Burberry smashes sales forecasts January 18, 2010 BURBERRY sales soared by 12 per cent in the three months to the end of the year – well above forecasts. The company took £380m over the period as it stripped out unprofitable lines and kept a tighter control on stock. Wholesale revenue – which comes from department stores that stock the group’s trademark red, [...]
Carphone Warehouse in revenue boost January 18, 2010 CARPHONE Warehouse has upped its full-year forecasts for the second time in a matter of months after strong trading at both its retail and broadband arms during the third quarter. The FTSE 250 group, which is splitting into two businesses in March, says earnings per share to the end of March are likely to be [...]
Myners: Banks could still be hit with US-style levy January 18, 2010 CITY Minister Lord Myners has warned that a US-style levy on banks could still be slapped on the UK. His comments came after Chancellor Alistair Darling had appeared to rule out the move. US president Barack Obama is hitting US banks with a 0.15 per cent charge on liabilities in a bid to recoup at [...]
Taylor Wimpey order book up 28pc January 17, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey has entered the new year with a 28 per cent rise in orders for new homes and seen a boost in prices. But the trading update on performance in the 12 months to 31 December saw a drop in the number of homes completed in 2009 compared with the previous year. The [...]
IMF chief warns of double dip recession January 17, 2010 THE head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the global economy could suffer a double dip recession. Dominique Strauss-Kahn said countries should not ditch stimulus packages that have triggered growth through governments’ pumping of money into economies. He warned: “We have to very cautious because this recovery remains very fragile. “Recovery in [...]
Northern Rock in £10m Newcastle shirt deal January 17, 2010 NEWCASTLE United has signed a new £10m sponsorship deal with Northern Rock. The four-year agreement will see the nationalised bank remain as Newcastle’s sponsor from season 2010/11 to 2014. Northern Rock’s chief executive Gary Hoffman hailed the renewed sponsorship as a good deal for taxpayers. The bank, which is based in Newcastle, was taken into [...]
JP Morgan profits soar January 15, 2010 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s fourth-quarter earnings quadrupled as the banking giant showed it was coming out of the financial crisis strongly. For the quarter to 31 December the bank posted a profit of $3.28bn (£2bn) up from $702m in the equivalent period in 2008. Staff at the bank’s 25,000-strong investment banking division – 5,000 [...]
Man Group assets take a hit January 15, 2010 THE world’s largest listed hedge fund manager Man Group has said assets have slipped back with a poor performance from its flagship AHL strategy. In the autumn Man’s assets began to recover from the effects of the credit crisis but the latest figures are a blow to the recovery. The company said that AHL saw [...]
Bovis boost to housing market January 14, 2010 BOVIS is the latest housebuilder to issue upbeat figures fuelling hopes of a recovery in the housing market. The company said profit forecasts were on target with the average sales price up 2.5 per cent on 2008 to £154,600 in 2009. Bovis completed 1,803 homes compared with 1,817 in 2008 – with 1,527 of those [...]
Pearson puts information company on market January 14, 2010 Pearson, the publisher of the Financial Times, has put its majority-owned financial information subsidiary on the market. Interactive Data Corporation (IDC) – which is 61 per cent-owned by the publishing group – has a market value of £1.5bn and is listed in New York. The company said in a statement: “Pearson and Interactive Data Corporation [...]
