Home Retail profit slumps by 60pc May 2, 2012 Home Retail, the country’s biggest household goods retailer, posted a 60 per cent slump in year profit and axed its final dividend as its cash-strapped consumers bore the brunt of the economic downturn. The owner of catalogue-based Argos stores and the Homebase do-it-yourself chain said on Wednesday it remained cautious about the consumer outlook and [...]
Standard Chartered in single digit income growth May 2, 2012 Standard Chartered said its first-quarter income grew by less than its previous 10 percent target, as the strength of the US dollar against Asian currencies impacted income growth. London-based Standard Chartered, which gets about four-fifths of its income in Asia, earns much of that income in local currencies, which translates to fewer dollars when the [...]
UBS first quarter profit down May 2, 2012 UBS said first-quarter profit more than halved, dragged down by a 1.16bn Swiss franc (£788.76m) hit to profit due to charges on its own debt. The Swiss bank struck a cautious note for the second quarter, saying economic worries rattling wealthy clients such as the eurozone debt crisis, concern over Europe’s banks and the US [...]
BSkyB reports record results May 2, 2012 Pay-TV group BSkyB posted record nine-month operating profit as an increasing number of subscribers turned to the group for broadband and phone services. Showing little effect from the fallout of a failed bid by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to seize full control of the group, BSkyB posted revenues up 5 percent to £5.1bn and earnings [...]
Moody’s says Olympics will give UK economy minor boost May 1, 2012 The Olympic Games in London this summer will likely provide only a temporary boost to corporate earnings, credit ratings agency Moody’s said. Britain, which went back into recession at the start of 2012, has spent nine billion pounds building the Olympics venues in east London and hopes the Games will be a catalyst to help [...]
FTSE edges up as Lloyds gains May 1, 2012 The FTSE 100 clawed back some lost ground in early trading with Lloyds among the top gainers after quarterly results that matched forecasts. London’s blue-chip index ended April in negative territory yesterday – its second consecutive monthly loss – as concerns rose over Spain’s economy and political tensions in Europe took their toll. Meanwhile UK [...]
UK manufacturing growth slows May 1, 2012 British manufacturing eked out growth in April as an economic slowdown in the euro zone curbed demand for goods made in Britain, a survey showed, raising the risk of a longer recession. The unexpectedly sharp slowdown will also fuel a debate over the chances of further monetary stimulus from the Bank of England (BoE), after [...]
Man Group says client outflows slow May 1, 2012 Man Group said clients pulled out less of their cash in the first three months of this year than in the previous quarter, raising hopes that the beleaguered hedge fund manager may soon stabilise its business after a dire past six months. The firm, whose share price has fallen by almost 60 percent since September [...]
Xstrata copper production dips May 1, 2012 Miner Xstrata, which is moving into the final stages of a record tie-up with commodities trader Glencore, posted a drop in first-quarter copper production as it prepares for the ramp up of key projects in the second half of the year. Xstrata, which said all its major projects were making good progress and remained on [...]
Lloyds warns of ‘long and difficult’ path to recovery May 1, 2012 Lloyds said it would set aside another £375m to cover compensation for people mis-sold insurance, while it faced a “long and difficult” path to recovery. Lloyds, 40-per cent owned by the government after a bailout during the financial crisis, said the increased provision reflected a rise in the volume of complaints received in February and [...]
