Bank of America posts loss after repaying bailout January 20, 2010 BANK of America has posted a quarterly loss and its first full-year deficit in more than 20 years after repaying US bailout money and defaults on consumer loans. The fourth-quarter loss including the cost of exiting the Troubled Asset Relief Program widened to $5.2bn (£3.2bn) or 60 cents a share, from $2.4bn, or 48 cents, [...]
Comet in festive sales slump January 19, 2010 COMET dragged down sales at parent company Kesa as the electrical store failed beat off its rivals over Christmas. Like-for-like sales dropped by 3.9 per cent at Comet between 1 November and 8 January. Kesa’s overall sales fall was limited to 0.3 per cent after growth in its international businesses. Comet’s performance was overshadowed by [...]
Eurostar sees record ticket sales January 19, 2010 TICKET sales and passenger numbers at Eurostar edged up to a new record last year despite a series of breakdowns which left thousands of passengers stranded in the Channel Tunnel. Sales at Eurostar reached £675.5m – up 1.7 per cent on 2008. The company took £675.5m while passenger numbers rose 1.2 per cent to 9.2m. [...]
UK Mail posts rise in revenues January 19, 2010 ROYAL Mail rival UK Mail reported a rise in revenues for the last three months of 2009. Revenues rose 4 per cent compared to the same period last year. UK Mail’s chief executive Guy Buswell said a rise in marketing companies sending junk mail had driven sales in its business post operations. Strike action by [...]
Citigroup in £4.7bn loss January 19, 2010 CITIGROUP has reported a loss of $7.6bn (£4.7bn) for the final three months of 2009 after being hit by the repayment of government loans. The results were worse than had been forecast by analysts. Citigroup chief executive Vikram Pandit remained upbeat despite the huge loss. He said the bank had made “enormous progress in 2009”. [...]
Burberry smashes sales forecasts January 18, 2010 BURBERRY sales soared by 12 per cent in the three months to the end of the year – well above forecasts. The company took £380m over the period as it stripped out unprofitable lines and kept a tighter control on stock. Wholesale revenue – which comes from department stores that stock the group’s trademark red, [...]
Carphone Warehouse in revenue boost January 18, 2010 CARPHONE Warehouse has upped its full-year forecasts for the second time in a matter of months after strong trading at both its retail and broadband arms during the third quarter. The FTSE 250 group, which is splitting into two businesses in March, says earnings per share to the end of March are likely to be [...]
Myners: Banks could still be hit with US-style levy January 18, 2010 CITY Minister Lord Myners has warned that a US-style levy on banks could still be slapped on the UK. His comments came after Chancellor Alistair Darling had appeared to rule out the move. US president Barack Obama is hitting US banks with a 0.15 per cent charge on liabilities in a bid to recoup at [...]
Taylor Wimpey order book up 28pc January 17, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey has entered the new year with a 28 per cent rise in orders for new homes and seen a boost in prices. But the trading update on performance in the 12 months to 31 December saw a drop in the number of homes completed in 2009 compared with the previous year. The [...]
IMF chief warns of double dip recession January 17, 2010 THE head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the global economy could suffer a double dip recession. Dominique Strauss-Kahn said countries should not ditch stimulus packages that have triggered growth through governments’ pumping of money into economies. He warned: “We have to very cautious because this recovery remains very fragile. “Recovery in [...]