Redrow April 27, 2010 NO ONE can deny that Redrow’s management team has engineered an impressive recovery. With the once moribund housing market showing signs of life, the firm says that sales rates per outlet are comfortably ahead of the same period last year. Falling prices and soaring cancellation rates are also showing signs of stabilisation. Unlike some of [...]
Deutsche Bank in record profit April 27, 2010 DEUTSCHE Bank profits jumped by almost 50 per cent jump to €1.8bn euros (£1.6bn) for the first quarter. Germany’s largest lender said its corporate and investment banking arms had recorded record profits. The bank put aside €262m euros to cover bad loans in the first quarter, 50 per cent down on the same period last [...]
Imperial Tobacco sees rise in earnings April 27, 2010 IMPERIAL Tobacco , the world’s fourth-biggest cigarette maker, beat forecasts with a 16 per cent rise in half-year earnings and looked towards a better second half as recovery kicks in. The company, with cigarette brands including Lambert & Butler, West and Gauloises, said on it saw the downturn cut its volumes 3.7 per cent in [...]
Lloyds back in the black as bad debts ease April 27, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group has confirmed it has returned to profit for the first three months of this year. The company, which is 41 per cent-owned by the taxpayer, said it expected to continue to make profits throughout the rest of the year. It said the rate of “impairments” has improved – which effectively means it [...]
BP profits surge to £3.6bn on oil price rise April 27, 2010 OIL giant BP has seen its profits more than double to $5.6bn (£3.6bn) in the first three months of the year. Rising oil prices have helped to fuel the jump which is equivalent to 135 per cent on the same quarter last year. Oil prices averaged $76 a barrel in the first three months of [...]
Businesses fear impact of hung parliament April 26, 2010 COMPANIES are worried about the impact of a hung parliament on their businesses, a study has revealed. The British Chambers of Commerce said that 65 per cent of a poll of 300 businesses were either “concerned” or “very concerned” about the prospect of a hung parliament. It found that most businesses feared a VAT hike [...]
Dividend payments down at UK firms April 26, 2010 BRITISH companies paid out less in dividends in the first quarter of the year than they did a year ago, new figures have revealed. A total of £13.6bn in dividends was paid during the first three months of 2010 – down 2.5 per cent compared with a year ago, according to Capita Registrars. Paul Taylor, [...]
Bank of Ireland confirms €3.4bn rights issue April 26, 2010 BANK of Ireland has unveiled plans to raise €3.4bn (£2.9bn) in order to help it recover from financial crisis The lender said it would launch a rights issue to try to shore up its position. The bank, the Republic of Ireland’s largest, said it hoped to raise the rest of the money by placing shares [...]
Carphone Warehouse raises profit forecast April 26, 2010 CARPHONE Warehouse has raised its full-year profit guidance for the third time in six months after a surge in demand for smartphones. The group said it expected strong growth for the rest of the year, particularly with its joint venture with Best Buy Mobile business in the US. It said it expected net profit for [...]
Greece triggers eurozone rescue package April 23, 2010 GREEK Prime Minister George Papandreou has asked for the EU/IMF debt rescue mechanism for his country to be triggered. It comes after data showed the debt-laden country has a budget deficit of 13.6 per cent of gross domestic product – higher than forecast. The loans package has been put together to help dig the eurozone [...]
