SuperGroup warns on profit April 20, 2012 SuperGroup, the British company behind the Superdry fashion brand, warned on year profit again, this time blaming “arithmetic errors” and timing issues in its wholesale business as well as lower margins in its retail business. The firm, whose clothes are a favourite of celebrities such as David Beckham, Leonardo DiCaprio and Zac Efron, said on [...]
Bank of America reports lower first quarter profit April 19, 2012 Bank of America Corp reported a drop in first-quarter profits as the second-largest U.S. bank took accounting charges related to its debt. Bank of America said net income was $653m, or three cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $2.05 billion, or 17 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. The [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown assets climb April 19, 2012 FTSE 100 fund manager Hargreaves Lansdown reported a £2.6bn rise in assets under administration to a record £26bn in the three months to the end of March. The company said that trading volumes were up 12 per cent in the year so far, triggered by volatility on markets. In the first quarter clients invested £1bn [...]
WH Smith targets overseas growth as UK stalls April 19, 2012 Newspapers, books and stationery retailer WH Smith plans to expand domestically and internationally, focusing on new stores at travel hubs and in growing overseas markets which are helping offset weakness on Britain’s high streets. WH Smith, which operates over 1,100 stores primarily in Britain, said that profit before tax rose to £66m in the six [...]
GSK sees $2.6bn bid for Human Genome rejected April 19, 2012 Human Genome Sciences said it had rejected an unsolicited bid worth around $2.6bn from long-time partner GlaxoSmithKline, marking a new takeover battle in a drugs sector that has been swept by M&A recently. Human Genome said it did not believe the offer of $13 a share in cash reflected the value inherent in the company. [...]
FTSE up as Spanish debt fears ease April 19, 2012 The FTSE 100 edged up this morning but trading was light as investors digested the results of a Spanish debt auction. Spain’s 10-year government bond yield surged above six per cent earlier this week, raising fears it may have to seek an international bailout. But this morning’s auction saw 10-year bonds sold at a yield [...]
Ford to invest $760m in China plant April 19, 2012 Ford is investing $760m to build a new plant in eastern China as part of its effort to catch up with U.S. rival General Motors Co in the world’s largest auto market. Ford said the new plant in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province will initially boost the US automaker’s annual capacity in China by 250,000 vehicles [...]
Debenhams profit rises April 19, 2012 Debenhams reported a 1.4 per cent rise in profit to £127.1m for the six months to 3 March.
Persimmon in strong start to 2012 April 19, 2012 British housebuilder Persimmon said it had made a good start to 2012 with both visitor levels and orders up on last year, boosted in part by a new government mortgage scheme. The group, which in February cheered shareholders with a promise to return 1.9 billion pounds of surplus cash to them over the next decade, [...]
BA fined £58m over price fixing case April 19, 2012 Britain’s Office of Fair Trading said it had fined British Airways £58.5m for price fixing in relation to fuel surcharges, imposing a penalty that is less than half that agreed in August 2007. The case against British Airways, which colluded with rival Virgin Atlantic in pricing surcharges on long-haul flights, has been a long and [...]
