Ocado sales growth picks up January 31, 2012 Online grocer Ocado posted a 27 per cent rise in underlying earnings, forecast first-quarter sales growth of about 10 per cent and said the rate of growth should improve as the year progresses and capacity improves. The group said Tuesday it made earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £27.9m in the year [...]
Dixons chief Browett quits to join Apple January 31, 2012 Dixons chief executive John Browett has quit to join Apple. He will be responsible for Apple’s retail strategy and the continued expansion of the technology giant’s stores and will be based in California. Browett has been at the helm of Dixons Retail since 2007 and is in the middle of a turnaround plan for the [...]
BSkyB to launch online TV service January 31, 2012 BSkyB is to launch an online TV offering to non-Sky customers following some signs of slowing growth at its main satellite base. Britain’s dominant pay-TV group said it would launch the new service to tap in to the 13M homes that do not currently pay for a television service. It made the announcement as it [...]
S&P warns G20 ratings downgrades loom January 31, 2012 Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s warned it may downgrade “a number of highly rated” Group of 20 countries from 2015 if their governments fail to enact reforms to curb rising healthcare spending and other costs related to ageing populations. Developed nations in Europe, as well as Japan and the United States, are likely to suffer [...]
France cuts 2012 GDP growth forecast January 30, 2012 France has cut its GDP growth forecast to only 0.5 per cent from 1.0 per cent, blaming the slowdown in the Eurozone. Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced the move as part of the country’s 2012 budget, saying the cautious growth outlook would minimise future cutbacks to public spending. He reiterated his belief that France and [...]
FSA appoints banking investment adviser January 30, 2012 The Financial Services Authority has appointed Will Samuel as investment banking senior advisor, the regulator said on Monday. Samuel, who will take up his role immediately, will be part of a team of advisors at the FSA where he will provide insight based on his experience of the investment banking industry. He has worked in [...]
Banks pull FTSE back as Greece crisis festers January 30, 2012 The FTSE 100 tracked losses across Europe in early trading as the negotiations in Athens over Greece’s disastrous finances showed few signs of success. Greece and its private creditors have so far failed to come up with an agreement on debt swap talks, needed to avoid a default. Meanwhile a European summit focused on growth [...]
Ex-UBS trader denies fraud charges January 30, 2012 The former UBS trader accused of unauthorised deals that cost the Swiss bank $2.3bn (£1.4bn) pleaded not guilty to all four charges of fraud and false accounting in a London court on Monday. Kweku Adoboli, 31, was charged in September in connection with one of the world’s biggest cases of alleged “rogue trading”.
BlueCrest in £150m fund raising January 30, 2012 BlueCrest Capital Management, one of Europe’s biggest hedge fund firms, is looking to raise more than £150m for a new listed feeder fund into its computer-driven BlueTrend fund, a source familiar with the matter said. The closed-end fund, BlueCrest BlueTrend, will feed into the firm’s main BlueTrend fund, the company said in a statement. BlueTrend [...]
Centrica raises stake in North Sea Oil field January 30, 2012 Centrica said it will increase its stake in the Statfjord field in the North Sea, providing the owner of household energy supplier British Gas with a further source of gas supply. The company said it had agreed to pay ConocoPhilips $223m (£142.3m) for its interests in the field, which straddles the UK and Norwegian North [...]
