ITV earnings up 13pc February 29, 2012 ITV reported a better than expected 13 per cent rise in adjusted earnings for the year, driven by growth in its own productions against a flat backdrop for advertising. The broadcaster, home to period drama Downton Abbey, soap-opera Emmerdale and ice-skating show Dancing on Ice, reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation of £462M [...]
Ireland to hold referendum on EU fiscal treaty February 28, 2012 Ireland will hold a referendum on Europe’s new fiscal treaty, Prime Minister Enda Kenny (pictured) said setting the stage for the first popular vote on the German-led plan for stricter budget discipline across the region. After joining 24 other EU states last month in agreeing the pact for stricter budget discipline, Kenny sought advice from [...]
FTSE gains fuelled by miners February 28, 2012 The FTSE 100 tracked overnight gains in Asia fuelled by lower oil prices and rising metal prices. Brent crude futures slipped to below $124 a barrel after a surge which had been triggered by fears over supply from the Middle East. A shortage would threaten to derail global growth and investors have been eyeing oil [...]
Barclays was at centre of tax loophole clampdown February 28, 2012 Barclays said it was the bank at the centre of a clampdown by Britain on two tax avoidance schemes that the government said would close loopholes and raise more than £500m in tax. Barclays said it notified Britain’s tax office about its plan to buy back its own bonds, on which it and other banks [...]
Sales growth slows at Whitbread February 28, 2012 Sales growth at Whitbread, owner of hotel chain Premier Inn and Costa Coffee, slowed in the fourth quarter as consumers struggled with a lack of disposable income. Overall group sales rose 1.8 per cent in the 11 weeks to February 16, but like-for-like sales at Premier Inn fell by 0.9 per cent due to poor [...]
RBS to shed 80 jobs on Australian trading desk February 28, 2012 Royal Bank of Scotland is closing its Australian fixed income, commodity and currency (FICC) trading desk and moving some of the 80 affected employees and trading to desks in Singapore and London as the bank shrinks to cut its losses. RBS, 82 percent owned by the British government following a bailout in 2008, has already [...]
Provident Financial profits up 12pc February 28, 2012 Lower bad debt charges boosted full-year profits at British sub-prime lender Provident Financial and the company said on Tuesday that it was confident of further growth in 2012. Provident Financial, which lends to people who cannot get credit from mainstream banks and whose roots date back to 1880, reported pre-tax profits for the year ending [...]
Persimmon to return £1.9bn to shareholders February 28, 2012 Housebuilder Persimmon posted a slightly stronger than expected jump in full-year profit on Tuesday and said it would return £1.9bn of surplus cash to shareholders. The York-based company said it would return the cash through dividends over nine-and-a-half years, starting in 2013, and remain largely debt-free throughout the period. The company is still investing in [...]
Occupy camp cleared from St Paul’s February 28, 2012 Police and bailiffs cleared an anti-capitalist camp from outside St Paul’s cathedral in London early on Tuesday, ending a four-month protest which resonated with Britons angered by huge bonuses awarded to bankers during an economic slowdown. There was no violent resistance from the Occupy London activists as bailiffs employed by the City of London Corporation, [...]
FTSE slips as oil price fears take toll February 27, 2012 THE FTSE edged down in early trading as surging oil prices cast a shadow over global growth and a G20 meeting failed to provide reassurance about international help to crisis-struck Europe. Rising tensions between Iran and the West are triggering rapid oil price rises as supply fears grow. Brent Crude marginally dropped in price this [...]
