Funds increase at Rathbones May 10, 2012 BRITISH wealth manager Rathbone Brothers yesterday reported 6.1 per cent growth in its funds under management for the first three months of the year, beating a small rise in financial markets as its affluent clients invested more money in its products. Rathbones said funds under management rose to £16.81m at the end of March. The [...]
Property debt gap to double May 10, 2012 TOUGH new capital rules in Europe are set to cause the funding gap in property-backed debt to double over the next two years, according to research out today. DTZ estimated that Europe’s debt funding gap will widen to $182bn by 2013 as banks, under pressure to increase their capital ratios, shy further away from exposing [...]
ARMY CHOPPERS HOVER OVER DOCKLANDS May 10, 2012 BRITISH military helicopters circled around Canary Wharf’s famous skyscrapers yesterday, as the armed forces made preparations ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games in London’s east end. Just 78 days before the start of the Games, people in the docklands were treated to the dramatic site during yesterday’s working hours.
Sony is hopeful of recovery yet bottom line hit May 10, 2012 SONY plunged to a record loss of ¥ 457bn (£3.53bn) in the last financial year, as its TV arm and a strong yen hammered its bottom line. But the firm yesterday forecast a net profit of ¥ 30m for the coming financial year, hopeful that its cost cutting plans and a turnaround in its TV [...]
Barratt homes enjoys its best spring sales season in five years May 10, 2012 BARRATT yesterday hailed its best spring selling season in five years, as it focused on more buoyant sections of Britain’s weak property market and government initiatives helped to prop it up. The company, one of Britain’s largest housebuilders, said while the economic outlook remains uncertain, it expects “the various government initiatives to continue to provide [...]
AMERICAN APPAREL BULLISH ON THE FUTURE May 10, 2012 US CLOTHING chain American Apparel last night reported a lower quarterly loss and forecast strong full-year sales. The company, known for its racy advertising and bright “Made-In-America” clothes, said it expects full-year sales between $552m and $559m. Fourth-quarter net loss was $11.2m, or 11 cents a share, compared with a loss of $19.3m, or 27 [...]
Olympus posts an annual loss May 10, 2012 OLYMPUS plunged to a £379m net loss yesterday as operating profits fell 7.5 per cent, and reported lower than expected capital levels that leave the door open for a possible fund-raising drive. The embattled camera company said operating profit dropped to ¥ 35.5bn (£274.8m) in the year to the end of March. It posted a [...]
Revenues rise at Rank Group as gamers move to online play May 10, 2012 GAMING company Rank Group yesterday posted a four per cent revenue rise for the 18 weeks to 6 May, buoyed by its online division and casinos. Grosvenor Casinos grew sales by eight per cent, despite its Belgian line still struggling in the wake of last summer’s smoking ban extension, as both customer visits and the [...]
Experian beats forecasts and finally gets rid of PriceGrabber May 10, 2012 CREDIT information firm Experian narrowly beat profit forecasts yesterday as it finally found a buyer for PriceGrabber, its price comparison website. The firm, best known for its consumer credit checks, said pre-tax profit rose five per cent to $689m (£426m). Revenues jumped 15.5 per cent to $4.5bn – around 10 per cent of which was [...]
WALKIE-TALKIE TOWER SECURES SECOND TENANT May 10, 2012 INSURANCE FIRM Kiln Group is poised to become the second tenant to sign up to Land Securities’ and Canary Wharf’s Walkie-Talkie tower, as a wave of insurance firms look to upgrade to new offices in the Square Mile. Kiln has gone under offer to take up 80,000 square feet on the lower four floors of [...]
