RBS earmarks £1bn for manufacturers January 14, 2010 ROYAL Bank of Scotland has set aside £1bn in new loans to help fuel a recovery in the UK’s manufacturing industry. The lender said it had “ring-fenced a fund specifically for the manufacturing sector”. The loans, ranging from £250,000 to £25m, will be offered on “competitive fixed rates and with the option to defer repayments [...]
Experian revenue up January 14, 2010 THE world’s largest credit information company Experian plc met expectations with a one per cent rise in third quarter revenue. Experian it had seen “further stabilisation” in North America, which accounts for more than 60 per cent of its profit, but remained cautious on Britain, where a recovery has been slower. Its strongest performing division [...]
European car sales rise in December January 14, 2010 EUROPEAN car sales surged by 16 per cent in December after a tough year. Total sales for 2009 were down 1.6 per cent on 2008, figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed. Sales in the UK were down 6.4 per cent for the year while in December they soared by 39 per cent [...]
Bosch plant faces closure with 900 job losses January 14, 2010 THE Bosch car parts factory near Cardiff is expected to close with the loss of 900 jobs, the company has announced. The plant is likely to shut at the end of an extended consultation period. Bosch had been considering two options for the future of the factory since October – either scaling back with 300 [...]
HMV sales dragged down by Waterstone’s January 14, 2010 MUSIC and book retailer HMV posted a fall in like-for-like sales over Christmas – dragged down by the poor performance of Waterstone’s. Sales in the five weeks to January were down 1.2 per cent overall even though the group’s CD and DVD chain in the UK and Ireland saw a lift of 2.2 per cent [...]
Argos sales lift fuels profit forecast rise at Home Retail Group January 14, 2010 ARGOS and Homebase owner Home Retail Group (HRG) has increased its full-year profit forecast by £20m after sales in the second half of 2009 beat expectations. The retailer now expects its pre-tax profits for the current financial year to 31 March to hit £285m. The revised figure came as a trading statement showed that Argos [...]
Barratt in housing market boost January 14, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments today fuelled hopes of recovery in the sector with rising volumes and prices bringing about an improvement in operating margins. The FTSE 250 group completed 5028 homes in the six months to 31 December and says it on track to hit its full-year targets of 12,000 completions. The average price of its [...]
Barclays buys NYSE market maker for $25m January 14, 2010 BARCLAYS has announced a $25m (£15.3m) deal for New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) market maker LaBranche & Co. The move means the UK bank can make even stronger its position as the biggest market maker on the index. The deal will also reduce the number of designated market makers on the NYSE to just four [...]
Matalan auction boosted by Xmas sales January 12, 2010 FASHION and homewares retailer Matalan has boosted its £1.5bn auction by revealing further strong growth over the Christmas period. The group revealed that like-for-like sales rose 13.7 per cent in the five weeks to 2 January. The upbeat trading statement came despite tough comparatives with positive trading figures seen a year earlier. Five private equity [...]
Greggs in slim sales rise after mince pie bonanza January 12, 2010 BAKERY chain Greggs sold more than a million mince pies a week over the festive period helping to give it an overall sales lift. Comparative sales during the four weeks to December 26 grew 1.1 per cent with a “very strong performance” in the Christmas week with a 4.4 per cent improvement. But the company [...]
