England qualifiers announced November 23, 2011 FOOTBALL: England will begin their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign with a trip to Moldova on Friday 7 September 2012. The final match is at home to Poland on 15 October 2013.
Compass sees earnings lift on US success November 23, 2011 COMPASS Group, the world’s biggest caterer, has seen its full-year profits rise after fattening up its US business with new contract wins, which helped offset tough conditions in Europe and Japan. The caterer, which provides meals for everyone from schoolchildren to members of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, posted a five per cent rise [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WERE COMPASS’ RESULTS ON TRACK? November 23, 2011 KARL BURNS | SHORE CAPITAL Following a 10 per cent increase in profit before tax, current trading can be described as resilient and the group has confirmed an already well-flagged £500m share buyback programme. We continue to view Compass as a quality, global growth play and highlight its relative de-rating compared to other similar stocks. [...]
Lift in Johnson Matthey sales November 23, 2011 JOHNSON Matthey, the world’s largest supplier of catalytic converters, yesterday posted a 24 per cent rise in first-half profit, helped by truck sales in North America, and said it expected a stronger second half thanks to resilient demand. The speciality chemicals company said customer demand was holding up in most regions, Underlying profit before tax [...]
Tesco stokes up shop price war November 23, 2011 TESCO, Britain’s biggest retailer, is expanding its price-cutting campaign as grocers battle to lure cash-strapped shoppers in the run up to the key Christmas trading period. Tesco, which takes more than one in every ten pounds spent in British shops, said yesterday it was reducing the price of 1,000 staple products, including meat, fruit and [...]
Newspapers prove drag on DMGT profits November 23, 2011 DMGT, the owner of the Daily Mail, posted a drop in full year profits yesterday, after a strong performance from its events arm failed to offset falling revenues and higher costs in its newspaper divisions. Revenues at Associated Newspapers, the division which publishes the Daily Mail and the Metro, were flat on an underlying basis [...]
What’s in a name? Not a huge amount November 23, 2011 “THE ‘D’ and ‘M’ in our name might stand for ‘Daily Mail’, but we’re far from that.” So said Stephen Daintith, DMGT’s finance director, as he discussed the group’s full-year results with journalists yesterday. The message, loud and clear, was that this was no longer a newspaper company, but rather a company that happens to own [...]
Microsoft vows Yahoo secrecy November 23, 2011 MICROSOFT has signed a confidentiality agreement with Yahoo, allowing the software giant to take a closer look at Yahoo’s business, according to a source familiar with the matter. Microsoft joins several private equity firms that are also poring over Yahoo’s books and operations, as they explore various options for striking a deal with the struggling [...]
Huhne calls for energy backing November 23, 2011 CLIMATE change secretary Chris Huhne hopes his “Green Deal” will kickstart £14bn private investment in insulating draughty homes by 2020. In his annual energy statement, Huhne said policies to increase efficiency and boost participation in renewable technologies would save households about £94, or seven per cent off the annual utility bill. But he conceded rising [...]
Invista sues Lloyds over fee dispute November 23, 2011 A FURIOUS row has broken out between Invista Real Estate Investment Management and its majority shareholder Lloyds Banking Group after the fund manager claimed the bank was refusing to make payments. Invista announced yesterday that it was suing the bank for failing to pay a £545,600 instalment it allegedly owes after cancelling a major contract [...]
