Homeserve raises dividend after profit surge May 25, 2010 HOME insurance group Homeserve hiked its dividend by nearly a quarter and reported a 13 per cent rise in full-year profit, boosted by international growth and strong customer retention. The company reported an underlying pre-tax profit for the year to end-March of £100.6m. compared with £88.7m for its restated 2009 profit. Market expectations had predicted [...]
M&S records £632m profit May 25, 2010 MARKS & SPENCER has recorded a pre-tax profit of £632m for the year to the end of March. The figure represented a 4.6 per cent rise on the year before. M&S chairman Sir Stuart Rose said the results showed the economy was going in the right direction but that “the recession is not over” for [...]
Chancellor details £6bn cuts May 24, 2010 CHANCELLOR George Osborne has announced a £6bn cuts package which will hit government departments. He detailed deep cuts with the department of transport to see £683m shaved from its budget. Meanwhile the business department will be cut to the tune of £836m. The education department will take a £670m hit but the savings will be [...]
Business leaders call for cuts to red tape May 24, 2010 BUSINESS leaders have called the Government to cut back on red tape which cost companies an estimated £88.3bn last year. The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) said in a report that regulations were costing businesses dear. Director general of the BCC said: “The Burdens Barometer highlights a clear problem for UK business. ‘The cost of [...]
BP miss “deadline after deadline” in oil spill crisis May 24, 2010 BP’s has missed “deadline after deadline” in its tackling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a top US official has said. US interior secretary Ken Salazar claimed the company had fallen short on its pledges to stem the flow of oil caused by a drilling platform explosion a month ago. The comments came as [...]
Cameron and Merkel put on united front May 21, 2010 DAVID Cameron stood shoulder to shoulder with his German counterpart Angela Merkel and pledged that Britain would be a major player in Europe. The Prime minister ruled out any giving over of sovereign powers to Europe, but insisted that he wanted a strong Eurozone. The leaders had been in talks before holding a joint press [...]
UK borrowing up – but beats forecasts May 21, 2010 THE Government borrowed £9.96bn last month – the highest figure on record for April. Last year’s April figure was £8.8bn, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Meanwhile the annual total borrowed by the Government was revised down to £145bn, lower than the £156bn forecast. The figure is equivalent to 10.4 per cent of GDP. [...]
LSE profit up despite revenue dip May 21, 2010 THE London Stock Exchange has ended up in profit for the year despite a drop in revenue. It recorded a net profit of £90.4m – compared with a loss of £338m last year. Meanwhile revenue for the year to the end of March fell 6.4 per cent to £628m. LSE lost market share to rivals [...]
Senate approves Wall Street shake-up bill May 21, 2010 The US Senate has passed a historic bill to shake-up financial regulations. The bill – which passed by 59 to 39 votes – creates new mechanisms for identifying financial risk. President Obama said Americans would never again pay “for Wall Street’s mistakes”. There will be further votes before the bill becomes law. However, the vote [...]
BA in record £531m loss as new strike looms May 21, 2010 BRITISH Airways has reported a record annual loss of £531m. Lower passenger numbers and the impact of strike action contributed to the bleak figures. The results – the worst since BA was privatized in 1987 – were issued as BA faces 15 more days of strike action by cabin crew after the High Court overturned [...]
