Dignity expansion boosts profits November 14, 2011 Dignity’s underlying operating profit rose for the nine months ended on 30 September, helped by an increase in the number of funeral and crematoria locations, and maintained a positive outlook for the rest of the year. The company said pre-arranged funeral plan sales were strong and that trading since 30 September was in line with [...]
Vectura recovers from losses November 14, 2011 Specialist drug company Vectura has reported a move into profit for the first half of the year, posting revenues ahead of expectations at £21.1m, and profits after tax of £2.6m – a £2.8m improvement on the loss a year earlier.
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 14, 2011 BTG The specialist healthcare company has appointed Garry Watts to succeed Dr John Brown as non-executive chairman, effective from 1 January 2012. Watts is chairman of the Spire Healthcare group of private hospitals, a senior independent director at Stagecoach Group and a non-executive director of Coca-Cola Enterprises. He was chief executive of SSL International for [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 14, 2011 SYNERGY HEALTHCARE Morgan Stanley rates the provider of sterilisation services to hospitals as “overweight” with a target price of 1,085p, based on stable, defensive growth, opportunities from new regions and acquisitions, a cheap valuation, and expanding margins. Following eight per cent organic growth in its first half results last week, the broker says the risk [...]
FTSE falls as Italy’s bond sale reduces investor confidence November 14, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares fell yesterday as the latest Italian bond auction dented investor confidence in the ability of new governments in Italy and Greece to tackle Europe’s debt crisis. An Italian five-year government bond auction delivered an early market view on former European Commissioner Mario Monti’s leadership after he was installed as Prime Minister of [...]
US stocks dented by Europe worries November 14, 2011 US stocks fell yesterday as rising bond yields in Italy and other Eurozone countries reminded investors that despite changes in governments, the region’s debt crisis could still spin out of control. Banks posted the largest losses, but overall volume was unusually weak. The KBW bank index dropped 2.5 per cent, with Bank of New York [...]
India’s innovation culture is revealing itself at last – and the West faces a dilemma November 14, 2011 CAN India emerge as an innovation powerhouse? Over the past two decades, India has achieved a dominant share of offshore work, giving Western populations angst about the loss of white collar jobs. The traditional concern in the West has been about immigrants coming onshore to compete for local jobs; now it seems that the effects [...]
Setting a match to the debate on petrol inflation November 14, 2011 INFLATION is now rising faster than wages, and Britain faces a cost-of-living crisis. Astronomical fuel prices are the number one issue in my constituency: they are creating a poverty trap, and are a major brake on economic growth. In real terms, adjusted for inflation, motoring fuel has never been this expensive – except for just [...]
Anchors aweigh: King has to let UK prices rip November 14, 2011 I AM NOT a supporter of quantitative easing (QE), but it strikes me that there is a perverse irony in the way it is debated. Let’s recap the way it is supposed to work. The Bank of England (BoE) attempts to control economic activity through interest rates – a cut in interest rates makes spending [...]
RAPID RESPONSES November 14, 2011 Bullion for bears James Conway’s Italian suggestion [Italian gold may be just the job to save the day, last Friday] is too complicated. Italy won’t sell its gold. But Italy’s gold reserves are worth €103bn. Bond issues with 25 per cent to 50 per cent gold collateral would be a confidence booster. The Eurozone holds [...]
