Societe Generale misses forecasts May 5, 2011 Societe Generale, France’s second-biggest listed bank, posted lower than expected first-quarter results after turmoil in the Arab world offset a strong performance in investment banking. SocGen is among the most exposed in Europe to Egypt and North Africa, where political upheavals hit business activity and led to a 61 per cent slide in international retail [...]
Service sector growth slows May 5, 2011 The country’s dominant service sector grew less than expected in April after hitting a 13-month high in March, a survey showed, suggesting the economy failed to pick up speed after its sluggish start to the year. The Markit/CIPS headline services PMI index eased to 54.3 in April from 57.1 in March, staying in positive territory [...]
Schroders profit rises May 5, 2011 British blue chip investment manager Schroders posted an 11 per cent increase in first quarter pre-tax profits from a year earlier but fell short of forecasts as returns on its investment capital flagged. Pre-tax profit for the three months to the end of March was £103.8m, an advance on £93.2m a year earlier but missing [...]
Morrisons in Royal Wedding boost May 5, 2011 Supermarket chain said its sales have been boosted by the royal wedding. Total sales excluding fuel during the 13 weeks to 1 May were up by 4.2 per cent from the same period a year ago, or by 2.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis. The company said campaigns such as its “Fuel Britannia” and [...]
Diageo sales rise fuelled by emerging markets May 5, 2011 Diageo, the world’s biggest spirits group, beat forecasts with a seven per cent rise in underlying sales for the first three months of 2011 as strong emerging market growth offset a weak Europe. The British maker of Smirnoff vodka, Captain Morgan rum and Guinness beer also stuck to its forecast to see higher profit growth [...]
Lloyds in red as it takes £4bn hit on insurance protection May 5, 2011 Lloyds bank said it will take a £3.2bn provision to cover it for losses from the mis-selling of protection insurance and suffered another £1.1bn hit in Ireland. The part-nationalised bank said it made the provision against payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints after UK banks last month lost a court case on how policies were sold [...]
Bank lending data shows slump May 4, 2011 Lending to consumers and homebuyers rose less than expected in March, Bank of England data showed, adding to evidence of a sluggish economy from the construction sector and falling house prices. A slew of weaker-than-expected data, kicked off by tepid first-quarter growth figures last week, have caused economists to push back their expectations of a [...]
UK construction PMI weaker than expected May 4, 2011 Activity in Britain’s construction sector slowed more than expected last month, a survey of purchasing managers by Markit/CIPS showed. The Markit/CIPS headline construction PMI index fell to 53.3 in April from 56.4 in March. Economists had expected a more modest slowdown in the index to 55.5. Both the housing and civil engineering sub-industries registered weaker [...]
Standard Chartered lifted by Asian markets May 4, 2011 Standard Chartered said it has had an excellent start to the year as key Asian markets lifted income by over 10 per cent, although costs rose at a faster rate after a hiring spree last year. The Asia-focused bank said its staff headcount had dropped but this was only temporary. Costs rose more than income [...]
Henderson assets dip May 4, 2011 Fund manager Henderson Group saw assets under management fall by £1.2bn in the three months to the end of March, mainly due to the transfer of its cash management to a Deutsche Bank unit. Henderson, which confirmed the acquisition of troubled Gartmore last month, said on Wednesday that combined assets under management stood at £76.2bn [...]
