Quitting at the top is a very rare occurrence November 2, 2011 CHIEF executives stepping down for health reasons are a rare breed, despite their gruelling schedules and the intense pressure mounted on them. Andy Hornby’s departure from Alliance Boots less than a year after accepting the job shocked the business world. Executive chairman Stefano Pessina later revealed Hornby was suffering from stress and had probably returned [...]
StanChart set to post record profits again November 2, 2011 STANDARD Chartered has forecast income growth of at least 10 per cent this year, it said yesterday, helped by a strong showing in Asian markets, putting it on track for a ninth straight year of record earnings. The bank did however see growth slow in the third quarter, led by a further slowdown in India [...]
Sands gets costs under control November 2, 2011 HOW many bank bosses wish they could include the following sentence in a statement to the stock exchange? “The group is in excellent shape and well positioned in growth markets.” Yet that was the message from Standard Chartered boss Peter Sands yesterday, when he updated markets on the bank’s third quarter. Income growth slowed a [...]
Nedbank’s loan growth is muted November 2, 2011 NEDBANK Group, South Africa’s fourth-largest bank, said yesterday it managed to boost its earnings from fees and commissions in a lean nine months that saw its loan book expand just three per cent. Nedbank, which is majority owned by insurer Old Mutual, said non-interest revenue totalled 10.9bn rand (£854m), compared with 9.4bn in the same [...]
French PM: bank bonuses must fall November 2, 2011 FRENCH Prime Minister Francois Fillon yesterday urged the nation’s banks to show restraint in paying out dividends to shareholders and called for any bonuses based on 2011 results to be “significantly lower”. Fillon, speaking after a meeting with leading banks, also said the lenders confirmed they would not need state capital injections to bolster core [...]
S&P firms on track to beat expectations November 2, 2011 MORE THAN seven in ten companies in the S&P 500 have beaten forecasts with their results so far this earnings season, figures from Thomson Reuters show. Of the 370 or so firms to have revealed their third-quarter results, 19 per cent have missed forecasts and 11 per cent have matched expectations – but seventy-one per cent [...]
MasterCard says consumers are still spending as its net income jumps 38pc November 2, 2011 MASTERCARD reported sharply higher third-quarter profit yesterday, easily beating Wall Street estimates on double-digit increases in volumes. The company’s chief executive also said on a conference call with analysts that consumers were still spending despite economic uncertainty, though growth comparisons will start to get harder from this month. The New York-based card processing company reported [...]
NEWS CORP PROFITS SLIP BUT EXCEED FORECASTS November 2, 2011 RUPERT Murdoch’s News Corp last night posted better-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit, even as the company struggles with speculation about future leadership at the family-controlled media conglomerate. Fiscal first quarter profit came in at $738m (£463m), down from $775m last year.
Polymetal in debut day on London exchange November 2, 2011 RUSSIA’S fourth biggest gold miner Polymetal was yesterday officially admitted to the London Stock Exchange after switching from a Moscow listing. The move follows a £491m share placing that values the company at £3.55bn. The placing was priced at £9.20 – the bottom of the range that was set between £9.10 and £10. Sources said [...]
Russian IPO concerns could see oligarch-free FTSE index November 2, 2011 LARGE foreign-controlled companies that list in London could be blocked out of a new FTSE index as investors are so concerned about poor governance, FTSE Group said yesterday. The index provider has asked market users if they want a new index that strips out firms with low free floats, or makes them meet tough governance [...]
