ANALYST VIEWS: IS SPORTINGBET ON A ROLL? August 12, 2010 GREG FEEHELY| ALTIUM SECURITIES While the company’s shares did respond positively to news of the PartyGaming Bwin proposed merger we still believe they fail to reflect the potential of further M&A activity in the online gaming space which should gather momentum over the next 12-18 months. Furthermore we do not think that the shares factor [...]
Holidaybreak’s education arm gives it a lift August 12, 2010 HOLIDAYBREAK – which operates Eurocamp – gave a glimmer of hope yesterday after poor results in the industry from Thomas Cook and TUI. The company said it remained upbeat especially about Eurocamp’s education division, providing school trips and adventure experiences for youngsters. The adventures business, trading under the PGL brand, has benefited from a growing [...]
AB InBev cheers a surge in beer sales August 12, 2010 THE World Cup in South Africa helped brewing giant AB InBev to record solid second quarter results. The maker of Stella Artois and Budweiser said UK beer volumes surged by 18.6 per cent between April and June and 11.4 per cent over the first half of the year, as fans stocked up for the World [...]
Findel raises £600k after selling unit to address debt August 12, 2010 HOME shopping and education supplies firm Findel said it would sell a unit, which includes its gadgets and gifts business, to online retailer The Hut Group in a cash deal worth £600k to help reduce its debt pile. Findel, whose net debt stood at £309.6m as of 2 April, had earlier said its level of [...]
PayPoint benefits from mobile foray August 12, 2010 PAYPOINT yesterday said its move into mobile phone payments had helped revenue rise seven per cent between March and July. The firm, whose services include bill payment terminals and ATM machines, made net revenue of £26m from 29 March to 25 July after its takeover of PayByPhone, which allows motorists to pay for their parking [...]
Germans quiz Credit Suisse clients on tax August 12, 2010 German authorities have asked around 1,500 German clients of Credit Suisse to provide evidence as part of a probe into whether Switzerland’s second-largest bank helped them dodge taxes. The chief prosecutor’s office in the western city of Dusseldorf said in a statement yesterday it had written to them to ask why they had deposited their [...]
TfL signs up 44,000 to use Barclays Cycle Hire August 12, 2010 LONDON’S cycle hire scheme has been used for more than 100,000 journeys since its launch on 30 July, Transport for London (TfL) said yesterday. Around 44,000 people have signed up to the hire programme, and are between them making up to 14,000 journeys per day. Around 70 extra docking stations are under construction, bringing the [...]
Aegon cash call fears grow as capital shrinks August 12, 2010 FEARS of a fresh rights issue overshadowed a consensus-beating second quarter performance from Dutch insurer Aegon yesterday, after the firm said its capital buffer had fallen. Shares in Aegon fell 3.5 per cent to €4.37 (£3.60) as the life and pensions firm said tougher requirements from ratings agency Standard & Poor’s meant its reserve capital [...]
Reposessions are still falling August 12, 2010 THE Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revised down its forecast for the number of borrowers who either fall behind in mortgage payments or lose their homes through repossession this year. The CML now expects 39,000 repossessions and 175,000 mortgages to end the year in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more, down from its [...]
TRICHET CONFIDENT ON BANK DEBT REFINANCING August 12, 2010 The massive €1.3 trillion of debt refinancing that Euro-zone banks need to carry out by the end of 2013 is manageable as long as funding markets normalise, the European Central Bank said yesterday. The ECB – headed by Jean-Claude Trichet (pictured) – said banks would have to step up their refinancing efforts in the coming [...]
