FTSE solid as banks edge up January 9, 2012 The FTSE 100 saw modest advances today ahead of talks between France and Germany on how to create the environment for a sustained recovery in the Eurozone. The bloc’s debt crisis will be top of the agenda when German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy meet in Berlin. Later this week the European [...]
Persimmon sees profits at top end of forecasts January 9, 2012 British house builder Persimmon said it expects underlying full-year pre-tax profits to rise by half, helped by higher sales margins, and said it was confident of further growth in 2012 as first time buyer interest improves. The largest UK housebuilder by market value said on Monday tighter cost control and sales on higher margin land [...]
Cameron right to back shareholders January 9, 2012 SO David Cameron believes in capitalism after all. His proposal to give shareholders a binding vote on the pay of their CEOs is sound. Companies are owned by shareholders, not directors, government, workers or busybodies; it is shareholders’ job to be involved in key decisions and not become absentee landlords. Rewards for failure in business [...]
Black cab maker Manganese Bronze issues profit warning January 9, 2012 Black cab maker Manganese Bronze has said it made no profit in 2011 and could fall miss targets this year. The group blamed the weak UK economy, uncertainty over the global economic outlook and a delay in fulfilling an order for 1,000 taxis from Azerbaijan. The firm sold 1,502 taxis in the UK last year, [...]
JD Sports buys Blacks assets for £20m January 9, 2012 JD Sports has confirmed that it has bought the assets of outdoor clothing retailer Blacks for £20m. Blacks Leisure has 98 Blacks outlets and 208 Millets stores. It also owns the Peter Storm and Eurohike brands. JD Sport Fashions said in a statement: “JD Sports Fashion , the leading retailer of sport and athletic inspired [...]
HMV gets Xmas sales still flagging January 9, 2012 Struggling British entertainment retailer HMV got a little respite over Christmas as sales declines slowed, providing a glimmer of hope the firm may have a future. The group, which last month posted wider first-half losses, said it was in danger of going out of business and put its HMV Live division up for sale, said [...]
Lloyds in talks to sell UAE business January 9, 2012 Lloyds Banking Group is in talks to dispose of its operations in the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank emerging as the frontrunner to pick up the business, according to Reuters sources. The bank, which is 40 per cent owned by the government, has appointed Rothschild as an adviser for the sale, two [...]
Morrisons sales growth slows over Christmas January 9, 2012 Wm Morrison Supermarkets reported a slowdown in sales growth over Christmas and predicted cash-strapped shoppers would remain reluctant to spend this year, despite an easing of inflationary pressures. Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer behind J Sainsbury, Wal-Mart’s Asda and industry leader Tesco) said sales at stores open over a year rose 0.7 per cent, excluding fuel and [...]
PM: Investors to have say on pay January 8, 2012 DAVID Cameron is set to give shareholders new powers to veto boardroom pay at Britain’s top public companies. Yesterday the prime minister hit out at “excessive” pay which made “people’s blood boil” and said investors should be given a legally binding vote, beyond their current advisory role, on the pay packages and pay-offs of FTSE [...]
Tobin tax could cost EU billions January 8, 2012 A EUROPEAN Tobin Tax would knock GDP and end up costing governments billions of euros in lost revenue, accounting firm Ernst &Young will argue today – yet France looks set to press ahead with the tax without waiting for pan-European agreement. The European Commission’s estimation that a financial transactions tax (known as a Tobin Tax) [...]
