AB Foods sales surge fuelled by Primark January 19, 2012 Associated British Foods has reported a 12 per cent lift rise in total sales in the 16 weeks to 7 January, thanks to “exceptional” performances at its sugar division and at discount fashion chain Primark. The group said higher prices and higher production levels meant that total revenues from sugar rose 21 per cent, while [...]
Mulberry sees strong festive sales January 19, 2012 Luxury fashion company Mulberry Group expects 2012 financial year results to exceed its earlier forecast, led by strong Christmas and New Year sales, putting it firmly in the festive winners’ camp in the UK. The company, which designs, makes and sells leather goods and accessories, said retail sales for the 16 weeks to January 14 [...]
St James’s Place assets up as it defies volatile markets January 19, 2012 Wealth manager St James’s Place continued to defy pressure from global financial turmoil during 2011 with a six pe rcent rise in funds under management as new client money offset the impact of weak markets. In a trading statement, the firm said the net inflow of funds under management during 2011 was £3.3bn, bringing total [...]
Kodak files for bankruptcy January 19, 2012 Eastman Kodak Co, which invented the hand-held camera and helped bring the world the first pictures from the moon, has filed for bankruptcy protection, capping a prolonged plunge for one of America’s best-known companies. The more than 130-year-old photographic film pioneer, which had tried to restructure to become a seller of consumer products like cameras, [...]
City wins court battle to evict St Paul’s protesters January 18, 2012 The City of London Corporation has won its High Court bid to evict protesters from outside St Paul’s Cathedral. The demonstrators have been occupying the site since 15 October when they set up tents in the shadow of the historic building. The corporation applied for a possession order after the Occupy London group ignored an [...]
Goldman Sachs cuts pay as profits plunge 56pc January 18, 2012 Goldman Sachs has been forced to slash pay as the turmoil engulfing the banking industry slammed revenues last year. The bank has announced a 56 per cent fall in fourth quarter profits, earning only $978m (£636m) compared to $2.2bn (£1.4bn) for the same period last year. The earnings report still beat analysts predictions, causing shares [...]
Portuguese bond yields drop January 18, 2012 Portugal has sold €2.5bn (£2.08bn) of short term debt at lower yields than the last equivalent issue. Half the debt was sold in the form of 11 month bonds at an average yield of 4.968 per cent. The last equivalent issue was on April 6 2011, when Portugal sold 12 month bonds at average return [...]
German growth hit by falling exports January 18, 2012 Germany will rely on domestic demand for growth in 2012 after announcing that exports will rise only 2 per cent as imports rise 3 per cent. As a result the Economy Ministry says it expects economic growth to slow to 0.7 per cent in 2012 before increasing to 1.6 per cent in 2013. It had [...]
Resource stocks peg back FTSE January 18, 2012 The FTSE 100 edged down this morning amid continuing fears of a Greek economic meltdown and a lowering of world growth forecasts by the World Bank. Resource stocks were the worst hit overall as the bank predicted world economic growth of 2.5 per cent in 2012 and 3.1 per cent in 2013, well below the [...]
Unemployment hits 17-year high January 18, 2012 The number of Britons out of work rose to its highest level in more than 17 years in November, but a slowdown in benefit claims in December provided some hope that the labour market downturn may be flattening off. The number of people claiming jobless benefit rose by only 1,200 last month after a downwardly [...]
