Panasonic bounces back after cost-cutting February 4, 2010 ELECTRONICS group Panasonic has reported its second straight quarterly profit – after an extensive cost-cutting campaign. Pre-tax profit between October and December came in at 32.3bn yen (£228m), compared with a net loss of 63.1bn for the same period a year earlier. The improvement was “due mainly to comprehensive streamlining of management”, the firm said. [...]
US unemployment in surprise drop February 4, 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT in the US has dropped to a five-month low of 9.7 per cent. The new figures suggest the labour market is improving – even though employers unexpectedly shed 20,000 jobs in January. One poll of analysts had forecast that the unemployment rate would edge up to 10.1 per cent for the month, from 10 [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS PUBLISHER YELL GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ? February 4, 2010 SAM HART| CHARLES STANLEY Although the company is being upbeat, the outlook is not good for Yell. The company has major structural issues and the move from print to online operations is a headache. Shares did rise after the statement but sales are down in the UK and elsewhere – there are more problems ahead. [...]
Insurer Aviva is hit by poor life revenues February 4, 2010 Insurer Aviva yesterday reported weaker 2009 life sales, held back by tough economic conditions in the UK, and said its general insurance arm had been hit by hefty bad weather claims in the final quarter. Aviva had total 2009 life and pensions sales of £32bn, down 12 per cent from £36.24bn the previous year, the [...]
Liontrust slides on outflows February 4, 2010 LIONTRUST Asset Management yesterday announced it suffered £131m net outflows in the fourth quarter as it prepares to launch a range of new products and streamline its business. The investment house’s shares fell 0.9 per cent to 115p after it revealed assets under management dropped to £1.18bn over the three months to December. One institutional [...]
Postive England setup should trouble Welsh February 4, 2010 ENGLAND Vs WALES UNDERACHIEVING England coach Martin Johnson has thrown down the gauntlet. By picking a positive starting XV – which notably includes Mathew Tait at outside centre – they are sending a message not just to Wales, their opponents at Twickenham tomorrow, but also to the other members of the Six Nations. Sale Shark [...]
Morgan Stanley lands Goldman veteran to help lead equity trading in New York February 4, 2010 Morgan Stanley has hired a 30-year Goldman Sachs veteran to help lead the firm’s equity-trading business, the latest in a series of moves designed to bolster the firm’s sales and trading operations. Anthony Lauto – who left Goldman in 2007 – will join Morgan Stanley’s New York office as a managing director. Morgan Stanley — [...]
GMAC knocked by toxic mortgage writedowns February 4, 2010 GMAC Financial Services, which is majority-owned by the US government, said yesterday it swung to a $5bn (£3.2bn) loss in the fourth quarter after writing down bad mortgage assets. That compares with a net profit of $7.5bn in the fourth quarter of 2008. GMAC said in December it did not expect to record more major [...]
Northern Bank sets aside £169m to cover bad loans February 4, 2010 NORTHERN Bank, the Belfast-based lender, has reported a £100m loss. The deposit-taker posted an operating profit of £68.6m but had to set aside £168.7m to cover toxic loan losses, most of them on property. Chief executive Gerry Mallon said so far only £7.6m had been written off on debts: “Given the local climate, we had [...]
LVMH gives a boost to luxury goods sector February 4, 2010 LVMH, the owner of luxury retailer Louis Vuitton and champagne house Moët & Chandon, yesterday said like- for-like sales in the fourth quarter of the year grew one per cent after achieving record sales in December. The Paris-based group said profit from recurring operations fell to €3.35bn (£2.9bn), down eight per cent from €3.63bn in [...]
