Asda buys UK Netto stores May 27, 2010 ASDA has bought the Netto supermaket chain in the UK for £778m. Netto has 193 stores, which will be converted to small Asda stores by next Summer, if regulators give the go-ahead. Asda plans to employ up to twice as many staff in each of the stores it has acquired. It sees the move as [...]
Lehman sues JPMorgan Chase for billions May 27, 2010 LEHMAN Brothers Holdings Inc is suing JPMorgan Chase & Co – accusing the second-largest US bank of illegally siphoning billions of dollars of desperately-needed assets in the days leading up to its record bankruptcy. The lawsuit filed in Manhattan bankruptcy court accused JPMorgan of using its “unparalleled access” to inside details of Lehman’s distress to [...]
JJB in £68.5m annual loss May 27, 2010 JJB Sports posted a pre-tax annual loss of £68.5m and warned investors not to expect a reversal of fortunes in the near future. The struggling retailer, which narrowly avoided administration also saw sales slump 42 per cent to £372.5m as suppliers, fearful of the company’s future, held back new stock, in the year to 31 [...]
Man Group hit by client withdrawals May 27, 2010 HEDGE fund firm Man Group’s assets under management have dropped eight per cent to £26.8bn since December, as investors continue to withdraw money after poor fund returns. The firm, which last week announced a surprise deal £1.1bn deal to buy smaller rival GLG Partners, said clients withdrew £3.1bn over the year to the end of [...]
Nationwide profit plunges by 46pc May 26, 2010 NATIONWIDE Building Society has reported a 46 per cent drop in annual profits as low interest rates continue to take their toll. Underlying pre-tax profits dropped to £212m for the year to 4 April compared with £393m a year earlier. The group said it expected the difficult conditions to continue throughout the year. Meanwhile it [...]
Cable & Wireless trades in line with forecasts May 26, 2010 TELECOMS firm Cable & Wireless Worldwide posted full-year results in line with forecasts and said it was confident it would meet expectations for cash and earnings generation as conditions improve. The former Cable & Wireless group split earlier this year into CWC – focussed in the Caribbean, Macau and Panama – and Cable & Wireless [...]
Burberry profit up 23pc May 26, 2010 LUXURY goods group Burberry beat forecasts with a 23 per cent rise in annual profit – fuelled by strong sales of coats and leather goods. Profit before tax and one-off items was £215m in the year ended 31 March. Sales rose seven per cent to £1.28bn. The company said it would almost double capital spending [...]
Coalition agenda set out in Queen’s Speech May 25, 2010 THE Queen has outlined the programme of laws the UK’s coalition wants to push through over the next 18 months. Measures include a shake-up in the electoral system with the prospect of five-year fix-termed parliaments. Plans to introduce ID cards will be ditched under the new coalition government, which said it was aiming to “rebalance” [...]
GDP growth higher than estimated May 25, 2010 STRONGER industrial production in the first quarter helped to nudge GDP growth up to 0.3 per cent although the economic picture remains lacklustre. The upward revision of 0.1 per cent will nevertheless provide a small boost to the new Coalition government, which faces the daunting task of toning up the UK’s finances. Howard Archer, chief [...]
Global markets fall May 25, 2010 GLOBAL stock markets are plunging over fears about the debt problems in the eurozone and mounting tension between South and North Korea. The FTSE 100 in London was down by 2.6 per cent, while Germany’s Dax dropped 2.3 per cent and France’s Cac 2.74 per cent. The falls followed plunges in Asian markets overnight. Stocks [...]
