China’s Bright Food buys 60pc stake in Weetabix May 3, 2012 China’s state-owned Bright Food Group has agreed to buy a 60 per cent stake in British cereal firm Weetabix Food Co from private equity firm Lion Capital, which, if completed, would be its second successful overseas acquisition in less than a year. The deal, which gives Weetabix an enterprise value of £1.2bn), is expected to [...]
Service sector growth slower than expected May 3, 2012 Business in the service sector grew more slowly than expected in April as clients remained cautious, although firms’ optimism rose to a two-year high and hiring picked up pace, a survey showed. Combined with slower growth in manufacturing and construction, the data will fuel talk that the Bank of England may overcome its reluctance to [...]
BG agrees to sell Comgas to Cosan for $1.8bn May 3, 2012 Gas and oil producer BG Group said it had agreed to sell its Brazilian gas distribution business Comgas to Cosan for $1.8bn (£1.1bn) as it unveiled soaring first quarter profits on the back of higher oil prices and production. BG is selling its controlling stake in Comgas to focus resources on developing major finds in [...]
Lufthansa to shed 3,500 jobs May 3, 2012 Deutsche Lufthansa, Germany’s biggest airline, announced plans to slash 3,500 administrative jobs around the world as it tries to return to profitability. “We can only safeguard jobs for the long term and create new openings if we reorganise the administrative functions and accept job losses now,” Chief Executive Christoph Franz said in a statement on [...]
Diageo sales rise fuelled by emerging markets May 3, 2012 Sales at Diageo, the world’s biggest distilled drinks group, were up six per cent in the first three months of 2012 with fast-growing emerging markets and a recovery in North America offsetting falling sales in Europe. The London-based maker of Smirnoff vodka and Captain Morgan rum said that despite weakness in Europe its fiscal third-quarter [...]
Morrisons sales dip in tough market May 3, 2012 Morrisons posted a fall in underlying sales in its first quarter, reflecting tough comparatives with a bumper period of trading last year and customers switching to rivals who are promoting more heavily. The supermarket chain, which trails market leader Tesco, Wal-Mart’s Asda and J Sainsbury in UK market share, said on sales at stores open [...]
Next reports strong sales May 2, 2012 Next, the country’s second-biggest clothing retailer, said a strong March, when the weather was fine, offset a weak April, when the cold and rain kept shoppers at home, enabling the firm to hold its profit outlook for the year. “Pretty much sales went up and down with the temperature gauge,” chief executive Simon Wolfson said. [...]
Growth in construction slows May 2, 2012 Growth in the UK construction slowed in April casting another shadow over the UK economy. The Markit/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index figure was 55.8, down from March’s 21-month high of 56.7. Any figure over 50 represents growth in the sector. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics figures said construction had contracted by three [...]
Mortgage approvals rise in March May 2, 2012 Mortgage approvals for home loans in Britain rose unexpectedly in March, suggesting the housing market continued to recover despite the end of a tax exemption for first-time buyers, Bank of England data showed. The bank said mortgage approvals climbed to 49,860 in March from 49,029 in February, confounding analysts’ forecasts for a fall to 48,000. [...]
FTSE shored up by strong blue chip results May 2, 2012 The FTSE 100 was flat in early trading as better than expected US manufacturing figures were offset by the bleak picture in the Eurozone. US manufacturing expanded at its fastest pace for 10 months fuelling confidence in the recovery of the world’s largest economy. However, the Eurozone’s manufacturing sector slipped further into decline last month, [...]
