Knight Capital shares higher August 7, 2012 KNIGHT Capital shares showed signs of improvement yesterday, as the embattled market maker began to regain some of the share volume lost after software glitch caused a huge trading loss last week. Meanwhile, NYSE Euronext said yesterday Knight would resume its responsibilities as a designated market maker on the New York Stock Exchange next Monday. [...]
Hotel group to return $1bn to shareholders August 7, 2012 INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels, the world’s biggest hotelier, yesterday promised to return $1bn (£640bn) to investors after profits jumped by six per cent in the first half of the year. Shares rose more than seven per cent after the owner of the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands announced a special dividend in the fourth quarter, at [...]
Xstrata puts cuts over Glencore August 7, 2012 MINER Xstrata is pushing on with plans to slash unit costs by $390m (£249m) this year despite the “distraction” of Glencore’s long-running attempts to merge, it said yesterday. The mining giant, which reported a 42 per cent drop in operating profit to $2.45bn, cut unit costs in real terms by $105m in the first half [...]
InterContinental’s asset sales show off an intelligent strategy August 7, 2012 INTERCONTINENTAL’s decision to return £1bn to shareholders is a smart one. By selling off assets to pay its investors a special dividend, the hotel group is giving them exactly what they want – proof that the firm’s balance sheet is being managed efficiently, combined with a hefty chunk of cash for their loyalty. Though hotels [...]
Church share in News Corp sold August 7, 2012 THE CHURCH of England has sold its stake in News Corporation over concerns about the governance of Rupert Murdoch’s empire. The Church opted to divest of its £1.9m stake after learning of Murdoch’s plans to retain the chairmanship. The church had called for “independent leadership” after the phone hacking scandal. It “was not satisfied” that [...]
Threadneedle picks up work August 7, 2012 THREADNEEDLE Investments yesterday captured $800m (£510m) of fresh assets after striking a deal to manage portfolios for South African fund manager Stanlib. Stanlib, which itself manages $44bn, will transfer its global and emerging market equity portfolios from UK fund manager Origin Asset Management over to Threadneedle under a segregated mandate. Threadneedle head of global equities William [...]
Greggs blames rain for its fall August 7, 2012 BRITAIN’S largest bakery chain Greggs yesterday blamed “record levels of rainfall” after like-for-like sales for the first half of 2012 fell 2.4 per cent. The group pushed ahead with 33 store openings during the period, pushing total sales 4.5 per cent higher to £350m in the six months to 30 June. Pre-tax profit fell 4.5 [...]
Global Radio in red after payoff August 7, 2012 BROADCASTER Global Radio has reported a £27.7m pre-tax loss due to a £63m payout to investors in the year to March, but market-beating advertising revenues boosted turnover during the same period. The owner of stations Heart and Classic said underlying earnings increased 12.5 per cent to £56.6m, while revenues rose to £209.4m. Global Radio’s directors [...]
Historic Hoy becomes Britain’s best August 7, 2012 TRACK cycling king Sir Chris Hoy has refused to rule out competing at the Rio 2016 Games after winning a sixth gold medal to become Britain’s most successful Olympian of all time. Hoy won the men’s keirin to overtake Sir Steve Redgrave’s five rowing golds on another day of British dominance in the Velodrome, with [...]
Brownlee brothers take gold and bronze August 7, 2012 BRITAIN’S Alistair Brownlee cemented his reputation as the world’s leading triathlete by claiming gold in Hyde Park yesterday, but blasted officials for handing brother Jonny a penalty that prevented the Yorkshiremen from completing an extraordinary one-two. World champion Alistair, 24, sped away from silver medal winner Javier Gomez in the closing stages of the 10km [...]
