Homeserve reveals costs of mis-selling November 22, 2011 REPAIR and insurance specialist Homeserve has posted a pre-tax profit rise of ten per cent in the first half of the year, but warned that the possible mis-selling of its insurance products could cost the group up to £10m. The firm, which offers insurance against burst pipes, broken down boilers and electrical problems, recently suspended [...]
Finns snap up gas and oil firm Hamworthy November 22, 2011 DORSET-BASED oil and gas services group Hamworthy has agreed to be taken over by Finnish enginemaker Wartsila yesterday in a deal valuing the UK company at about £383m. The announcement will boost Wartsila’s presence in the fast-growing energy sector. Wartsila said it saw major cost synergies and sales opportunities from integrating Hamworthy in its ship [...]
M&B’s debts concern Joe Lewis camp November 22, 2011 MITCHELLS & Butlers’ largest investor Joe Lewis yesterday voiced concerns over the embattled company’s finances, despite a return to profit in its full-year results. A source close to Lewis’s investment vehicle Piedmont highlighted the sharp rise in M&B’s non-current liabilities on derivative financial instruments, which hit £235m for the full year to 24 September, up [...]
Enterprise Inns profits slip but stays positive November 22, 2011 ENTERPRISE Inns, Britain’s biggest pub landlord, saw its pre-tax profits slip 10 per cent to £157m in the year to 30 September 2011 after it sales dropped and it sold off some of its pubs. The pub group, which has been nursing itself back to health after a turbulent four years, said the average net [...]
Samsung is close to deal on Google TV November 22, 2011 Samsung yesterday said it is close to securing a deal to roll out the next generation of Google TV, bolstering the lucrative partnership between the two giants. Both companies have struggled in the sector this year, with Samsung’s meteoric rise in the flatscreen TV market being curtailed by a collapse in demand for expensive consumer [...]
CITY VIEWS: HOW DO YOU WATCH TV? November 22, 2011 MICHAEL DACOSTA | ABERDEEN AM “Personally I find that I am too busy to watch television, but when I am interested in a programme or movie I find that Sky+ is the easiest to use. Adverts can be very annoying so fast forwarding through them is great.” GARY FREDSON | HOMEMAKERS NATIONWIDE “I like to [...]
Woodford set for showdown at Olympus HQ November 22, 2011 OLYMPUS investors are hopeful that former boss Michael Woodford could return to lead a clean-up of the Japanese company after he agreed to return to its headquarters for the first time since he was axed. Woodford is set to attend a board meeting on Friday, although it remains to be seen whether he will meet [...]
Most smartphone users not keen to buy Nokia November 22, 2011 THE latest wave of the YouGov Smartphone Mobile Internet Experience (SMIX) report has some chilling news for Nokia, as the once dominant Finnish provider has seen its share of expected next smartphone purchase (ie the phone that current smartphone users expect to buy next) drop to four per cent. This compares to Apple on 41 [...]
UK’s national debt rises but pace slows November 22, 2011 THE UK’S national debt increased again in October, but at a slowing rate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed yesterday. Borrowing fell to £6.5bn, down from £12.96bn in September and from £7.72bn in October 2010. Net debt, excluding financial interventions stands at 62.3 per cent of GDP, down from 62.6 per cent in September. [...]
Home ownership to slide says Bank’s David Miles November 22, 2011 FIRST-TIME buyers are taking longer to save for large deposits, and so the number of owner-occupiers is set to fall, David Miles from the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee said in a speech yesterday. The transition to a society with fewer homeowners will be painful, he warned, but could have long-term benefits to the [...]
