CITY VIEWS: WILL GREECE BE A EUROZONE MEMBER IN 12 MONTHS TIME? February 15, 2012 MONIR HOSSAIN | CITI “Absolutely. They’re isolated and will be better off in it. At the moment the euro is helping them get out from their hole. If they isolate themselves then they will be in a much poorer situation.” JOHN SAVILLE BENTLEY | SMS “No. I don’t think they’ll be able to force through [...]
Fed split over further easing February 15, 2012 A FEW Federal Reserve officials in January believed another round of bond buying by the central bank would be needed before long to support the US economy, miniutes of the meeting revealed last night. Others thought more bond buying would be necessary only if the recovery lost momentum or if inflation dipped, the minutes said. [...]
CAIRN ENERGY CHAIRMAN BREAKS BREAD IN SPANISH SUPERMARKETS February 15, 2012 A RED-LETTER day for Sir Bill Gammell yesterday, as the fast-growing food brand backed by the Cairn Energy chairman announced expansion into its second international market. Under a deal with French supermarket giant Carrefour, Genius Foods, the gluten-free grocery range in which Gammell is the largest single investor, will be available in the chain’s 350 [...]
CPP loses Barclaycard amid mis-selling probe February 15, 2012 CREDIT card insurer CPP has lost its contract with Barclaycard as a regulatory probe in sales practices continues to damage the company. Barclaycard had already suspended some sales of CPP products last year but will now end all other sales within the next six months. The Financial Services Authority has been investigating the insurer since [...]
News Corp cash in spotlight February 15, 2012 CASH payments totalling six figures are suspected to have reached the pockets of public officials, in light of evidence which suggests ten of thousands of pounds were spent each year by News Corp journalists in the UK to keep police officers and other civil servants on retainers. “This is not about sources or expenses,” a [...]
Thorntons’ profits hit by weak Xmas February 15, 2012 THORNTONS’ profits took a turn for the worse in the first half of the year, crashing more than 90 per cent after the chocolatier was forced to slash prices to lure cash-strapped shoppers. Profits fell to £618,000 in the 28 weeks to 7 January, compared with £8.3m in the first half. Excluding £2.4m of exceptional [...]
Sports Direct plans dividend February 15, 2012 BRITAIN’S biggest sporting goods retailer Sports Direct International said it would consider paying a dividend at the end of its fiscal year, following strong third-quarter results. Shares of the company, controlled by Newcastle United soccer club owner Mike Ashley, rose as much as 6.2 per cent to 279.2p yesterday — their highest level in nearly [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS THORNTONS’ PLAN TO TURN ITSELF AROUND WORKING? February 15, 2012 DAVID JEARY | INVESTEC While there are some encouraging signs in various aspects of the early stages of the implementation of the group’s strategic plan, we believe a higher level of investor confidence requires positive forecast momentum to underpin Thornton’s progress on its strategic plan. AMISHA CHOHAN | MERCHANT SECURITIES The strategy to reduce their [...]
TPG bids to GlobeOp shareholders February 15, 2012 TPG Capital yesterday issued an official offer document to GlobeOp’s shareholders, detailing terms and conditions of its £508m bid to buy the financial services company as well as laying out acceptance procedures. Financial software provider SS&C, which last week announced it was considering options to bid for GlobeOp, responded with a statement reiterating its continuing [...]
Profits shorten at Marriott hotels February 15, 2012 Marriott International, the hotelier whose brands include Ritz-Carlton and Residence Inn, reported a lower quarterly profit but raised the lower end of its 2012 forecast for a key industry revenue metric. Fourth quarter net income was $141m (£89.9m), or 41 cents a diluted share, compared with $173m, or 46 cents a share, a year earlier. [...]
