Barratt upbeat as profits rise due to stable housing market July 11, 2012 BARRATT Developments has forecast a big rise in full-year profit, and said yesterday its drive to build new homes on higher-margin land would allow more progress as long as the housing market remained relatively stable. The group said it expected to post a 41 per cent jump in operating profit before exceptional items to around [...]
UK Mail sees revenue climb as parcels division boosts figures July 11, 2012 UK Mail said yesterday that revenues in the first quarter had climbed by 13 per cent year-on year. Adjusting for the increase in Royal Mail prices brought in on 2 April 2012 underlying group revenues increased by around 10 per cent. The company said that its parcels division had performed strongly and that overall the [...]
Mondi in $782m Nordenia deal July 11, 2012 South Africa’s Mondi Group said yesterday it will buy German packaging firm Nordenia International from Oaktree Capital, in a $782m (£502m) deal that will give the paper maker a bigger presence in consumer packaging. Mondi will buy 93.4 per cent of Nordenia from private equity firm Oaktree and other minority shareholders in a cash and [...]
SEC votes for stock database July 11, 2012 A divided Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday adopted a rule designed to bolster its surveillance of the equities markets by establishing a central database that stores every trade order, execution and cancellation. The rule will bring the SEC one step closer to having a consolidated audit trail to better police for market manipulation and [...]
House prices to remain below peak until 2024 July 11, 2012 UK house prices may not return to their peak until well into the 2020s, claimed a report from PwC yesterday. House prices reached a peak in 2007 that they may not reach until 2017 in cash terms, and 2024 relative to consumer prices, the report said. Average prices are expected to plateau for the next [...]
Lord Mayor: City must gets its house in order after Libor crisis July 11, 2012 THE LORD Mayor of the City of London last night issued an impassioned plea for the square mile to get its house in order, as the Libor fixing scandal threatens to escalate. Traders guilty of manipulating the inter-bank lending rate should be firmly punished, Lord Mayor David Wootton said, insisting that the reputation of the [...]
US trade deficit narrows as oil prices fall and exports increase July 11, 2012 THE US trade deficit narrowed in May, according to data released yesterday by the Commerce Department. The trade deficit stood at $48.7bn (£31.3bn) in May, compared to the revised April figure of $50.6bn. This came from exports that inched up $0.4bn, to $183.1bn, and imports that shrunk $1.6bn to $233.3bn. Michael Moran at Daiwa capital [...]
Emerging market growth slows due to manufacturing slump July 11, 2012 EMERGING market growth slowed in the second quarter, due to reduced manufacturing growth, according to HSBC’s Emerging Market Index released yesterday. The overall index slipped to 53, from 53.6 – 50 would indicate no change – with slow manufacturing growth working against robust service growth. Murat Ulgen at HSBC said: “The manufacturing sector remains considerably [...]
Bad managers hold back UK GDP recovery July 11, 2012 INCOMPETENT managers are holding back British firms and so stopping the economic recovery, the department for business, innovation and skills (BIS) claimed yesterday, calling on companies to step up their management training programmes. The report found 72 per cent of organisations in England suffer from a deficit of management and leadership skills, with 43 per [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 11, 2012 iCon Infrastructure The infrastructure-focused investment firm has appointed Daniel Hales as its director of finance. He most recently worked as group finance controller and director of compliance at RCP Capital Group, the investment firm. Hales has also previously held roles at Goldman Sachs and KPMG. Kleinwort Benson Malcolm Roberts has been appointed managing director of [...]
