Bloomberg wins case against pregnant women August 17, 2011 Bloomberg has won a significant court victory after a US judge denied a class action discrimination suit brought against the financial news and media services company by pregnant women. The privately-held New York-based Bloomberg, founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was sued in Manhattan federal court in 2007 by the Equal Opportunity Commission [...]
Hochtief beats forecasts with a jump in orders and airport disposal progress August 17, 2011 GERMANY’S largest builder Hochtief beat forecasts for second-quarter earnings, thanks to a rise in new orders, and said it was pleased with the progress in selling its airports division. The company also confirmed its full-year outlook for 2011-2013, and said it expected its troubled Australian unit Leighton to return to strong performance soon. The group [...]
SAS swings into profit as cost cuts start to pay off August 17, 2011 SCANDINAVIAN airline SAS yesterday beat forecasts as it swung to a second-quarter pre-tax profit yesterday and said it was on track for the full year, lifting its shares up 21 per cent. “I stand by the outlook we gave in the first quarter that we will be in the black for the whole of 2011,” [...]
Eaton Vance attracts less cash August 17, 2011 Asset manager Eaton Vance Corp said quarterly profit jumped 63 per cent, but net inflows of cash from investors declined amid volatile markets. Like other asset managers whose prospects are closely tied to market indices, Eaton Vance investments have been whipsawed by recent market shocks. The concern is that volatility will make investors more reluctant [...]
Sweden can seize Saab assets August 17, 2011 Sweden’s debt enforcement agency is preparing to seize assets of troubled car maker Saab in an attempt to recover at least 4m Swedish crowns owed to parts suppliers. The agency can now seize assets, including any cash in Saab’s bank accounts. Car production at the cash-strapped company, rescued in early 2010 by Netherlands-based Swedish Automobile, [...]
Pearson in line for sale windfall August 17, 2011 Publisher Pearson yesterday unveiled a $115m (£69.4m) windfall from the sale of its government solutions business in 2006. Pearson, owner of the Financial Times and book brand Penguin, sold the US-based government solutions arm to private equity group Veritas five years ago for $600m but retained an equity stake under the name Vangent. Now that [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 17, 2011 Stephenson Harwood The law firm has strengthened its projects team by hiring Jonathan Cripps and Rebecca Carter (pictured) as partners. Cripps and Carter join from Eversheds, where they acted for public and private sector infrastucture clients including the Ministry of Justice, the North London Waste Authority and the Office of Government Commerce. The firm has [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 17, 2011 DIAGEO UBS rates the drinks company “buy” with a target price of 1,425p. The broker believes Diageo will ramp up advertising spending in the medium-term, helping prop up double-digit sales growth in new markets to minimie the effects of an expected seven per cent fall in Europe. UBS also expects Diageo to use its strong [...]
Falling financial stocks drag FTSE lower amid euro fears August 17, 2011 Weaker financial stocks led British shares lower yeterday as the outcome of a Franco-German summit left investors still anxious about the Eurozone debt crisis and concerned about the impact of plans for a new tax on the industry. The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.5 per cent at 5,331.60, having at one stage dropped back [...]
Tech stocks drop on weak Dell results August 17, 2011 TECH shares fell yesterday after Dell’s disappointing sales outlook fanned worries weak economic growth will hurt earnings in the third quarter. The Dow and S&P indices ended little changed in an up-and-down session where investors sold growth sectors in favor of defensive shares like telecoms and utilities. Computer maker Dell was the S&P’s worst performer, [...]
