Peppa Pig toy maker profits grow by 20pc November 29, 2011 TOY licensing firm Character Group yesterday reported a 20 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to more than £9m. But the group, which makes tie-in products for popular children’s shows such as Peppa Pig, Fireman Sam and Scooby-Doo, warned that its annual sales were likely to come in lower than previously forecast, though it said [...]
Omega in bid wrangle as Byrne wavers November 29, 2011 OMEGA, the Bermuda-domiciled London stock market-listed insurance group, yesterday confirmed that the tycoon bidding for 25 per cent of its stock wants to lower his offer. Omega made a stock exchange announcement yesterday following reports, including in City A.M. suggesting that bidder Mark Byrne was about to let his offer lapse. Sources close to Byrne [...]
Quintain seeks new partner for Wembley designer mall project November 29, 2011 QUINTAIN Estates has ended talks with a potential joint venture funding partner to develop and run its London Designer Outlet at its £2.5bn Wembley scheme. In its half-year results, the regeneration specialist said talks had ended after the partner failed to deliver part of the proposed financing structure and will launch a formal market process [...]
FTSE climbs on US data November 29, 2011 BRITAIN’S blue chip index rose yesterday, building on two straight sessions of gains as strong consumer confidence data from the United States offset renewed concerns about the Eurozone debt crisis. The FTSE 100 added 24.24 points, or 0.5 per cent, to close at 5,337 after turning higher in the afternoon, when data showed US consumer [...]
OSBORNE’S DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS LOSE FRIENDS AT HOME AND ABROAD November 29, 2011 SEEING as its barely a month since French President Nicolas Sarkozy unceremoniously told David Cameron to “shut up” over the euro, Sarko’s finance minister Francois Baroin is unlikely to have taken kindly to chancellor George Osborne’s latest attack on the single currency yesterday. Going only very slightly off script in his Autumn Statement to parliament [...]
UK mortgage approvals are on the rise November 29, 2011 BRITISH mortgage approvals edged up more than expected to their highest in nearly two years last month, but the overall picture for lending remained well below pre-crisis levels and the outlook appears set to darken. The Bank of England said approvals for home loans – a gauge of house prices in six months’ time – [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 29, 2011 RANDGOLD RESOURCES Investec has upgraded the miner from “hold” to “buy” with a reduced target price of £73.32, down from £73.89. The broker has trimmed its forecasts after Randgold lowered its own outlook, but believes the recent share price fall presents a buying opportunity. Investec also thinks the recent problems at its mills are manageable [...]
Nationwide says house prices up November 29, 2011 House prices edged up in November, beating expectations despite a weak economy, but activity remains subdued and prices are more likely to dip in the next 12 months, Nationwide said yesterday. House prices rose 0.4 per cent from October on a seasonally adjusted basis, their third straight monthly increase. Prices were 1.6 per cent higher [...]
Slump in EC confidence levels November 29, 2011 Worries about the Eurozone’s debt crisis worsened in November and dragged the EC’s economic and consumer sentiment index to a two-year low. Business managers and consumers turned more pessimistic across almost all sectors of the Eurozone’s economy and the EC’s monthly economic sentiment index slipped to 93.7, its lowest since late 2009.
Spanish retail sales keep falling November 29, 2011 Spanish retail sales fell by seven per cent year-on-year on a calendar-adjusted basis in October, official data showed yesterday, after a revised fall of 5.6 per cent in September. The data from the National Statistics Institute marked the sixteenth month in a row of falling retail sales data.
