Stagecoach’s buses boom, trains falter June 24, 2009 RAIL and bus group Stagecoach said yesterday its full-year pre-tax profits were up 12.6 per cent to £196.4m on the back of a strong performance at its bus division. But the group warned its UK rail division would make a huge loss in 2010 and 2111, if an ongoing row over who should foot the [...]
Bad shops are to blame for our withering High St June 24, 2009 THIS week a rare opportunity to watch television saw me glued to a programme presented by the self-styled “Queen of Shops” Mary Portas. Focusing on the death of that great British institution the High Street, Portas probed the decline of traditional retailers and voiced her fears for the future of our nation of shopkeepers and [...]
Antigua fires finance regulator June 24, 2009 Antigua and Barbuda has fired its chief financial regulator Leroy King, who has been accused of accepting bribes from Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford. Sir Allen was charged last week with a £4.2bn scheme to defraud investors.
McBride beats City forecasts June 24, 2009 McBride, Europe’s biggest maker of retailer own-brand household products, said yesterday full-year underlying profit would beat analysts’ forecasts following a pickup in growth in the fourth quarter. The firm, which supplies supermarkets like Tesco with own-label goods, said operating profit before one-off items and goodwill would be at least £35m for the year ended 30 [...]
Woolworths given new life June 24, 2009 Shop Direct Group is today giving Woolworths a new lease of life in an online form. Chief executive, Mark Newton-Jones acquired the brand name twenty weeks ago after the highstreet retailer collapsed and has since launched woolworths.co.uk. Pick’n’Mix and twenty different types of piñata are a few of the products that will be sold on [...]
Madoff victims told to wait June 24, 2009 Decisions over compensation for the thousands of investors defrauded by Bernard Madoff will be deferred for three months, the US judge who will sentence the confessed swindler on June 29 ruled yesterday. US prosecutors argued they needed more time to calculate the amount of money lost and the number of those swindled in Madoff’s alleged [...]
BAE wins $124.8m US contract June 24, 2009 Defence company BAE Systems won a $124.8m (£70m) US army contract yesterday to reset, upgrade and maintain M113 vehicles – armoured personnel carriers. During the reset process, BAE Systems will repair existing vehicles to pre-deployment condition and provide some upgrades to enhance survivability, mobility and communications.
KESA’S SLUMP June 24, 2009 LOSS BEFORE TAX£81.8m2008: Profit £128.8m DARTY FRANCE REVENUE&9660;5%like-for-like basis OPERATING PROFIT£77m2008: Profit £141.3mCOMET REVENUE&9660;7.7%like-for-like basis GROUP REVENUE&9660;6.2%like-for-like basis OTHER REVENUE&9660;6.3%
CAN KESA ELECTRICALS RECOVER FROM ITS NOSEDIVE INTO THE RED? June 24, 2009 DAVID JEARY INVESTECIt is clear that trading conditions remain challenging. The company has already announced cost cutting measures for Comet and its Spanish division, and cost reduction is to remain a key focus. Much will depend on the continued resilience of the key Darty division, which has performed solidly.” MATTHEW MCEACHRAN SINGER CAPITALThese results look [...]
Comet owner Kesa plunges into the red June 24, 2009 KESA Electrical, the owner of Comet, yesterday said it had plunged to a £81.8m full-year loss due to a slump in demand for electrical goods. The group, which owns a number of European electrical retailers including Darty in Frnace, boasted a pre-tax profit of £128.8m a year ago. The losses were largely due to a [...]
