CITY VIEWS ARE UK GILTS THE SAFEST INVESTMENT? May 9, 2012 DAVID WRIGHT CALYPSO Yes, the UK is relatively safe – other governments are in a much worse position. However in terms of return, equities are a better option. For example, I personally favour ISAs which invest in equity funds. LEON ERWEE INCENTIVE LINKS No – there are no really safe sovereigns at the minute. I [...]
Euro 2012 set to kick ITV’s ad sales to growth May 9, 2012 ITV yesterday reported a revenue jump in its first quarter and said the Euro 2012 football championship and a strong Autumn line-up bode well for the year ahead. Revenues at the broadcaster grew 13 per cent to £565m for the first three months of the year, boosted by a “front-loaded delivery” of new shows which [...]
Moving from commercials to content May 9, 2012 WE’RE about to have the kind of summer that advertisers dream of. The combined effect of the Olympics, the Euro 2012 football championship and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will sharply push up bookings, even as the macro economic environment darkens. ITV yesterday said it expected its own ad revenues to jump by between 12 and [...]
Boris expands his mayoral team May 9, 2012 Mayor of London Boris Johnson yesterday appointed more members to his team as he prepares for a second term in office. Conservative London Assembly member Victoria Borwick has been announced as his deputy mayor, replacing Richard Barnes who lost his seat in last Thursday’s election. Fellow Assembly member James Cleverly has become London’s fire chief, [...]
3i Infrastructure builds its value May 9, 2012 Investment group 3i Infrastructure saw its portfolio value climb in the full year to the end of March despite a profits drop. The 14-strong portfolio of assets generated a total return of £56m, a drop of a third on the year before, while total return on average shareholders’ equity declined from 9.2 per cent to [...]
Sainsbury hails coupon success as profits rise May 9, 2012 J SAINSBURY said yesterday that its discount coupons and price matching scheme had helped it outperform the market as the UK’s third largest grocer posted a seven per cent rise in full-year profit. Chief executive Justin King brushed aside concerns over mounting competition from the likes of Waitrose’s new brand match scheme saying its own [...]
EasyJet bullish on rest of year as business passengers belt up May 9, 2012 EasyJet expects second-half revenue to rise, helped by a growing band of business travellers paying higher fares to help Europe’s second-largest low-cost carrier overcome higher fuel costs. EasyJet, which has increased the number of flights between top business destinations, said yesterday nearly half its summer seats had been sold. Chief executive Carolyn McCall said that [...]
Avon bidder in sale of £1.3bn Reckitt shares May 9, 2012 JAB Holdings, the company that manages the interests of the Reimann family of Germany, said yesterday that it was selling a 4.9 per cent shareholding in the household goods company Reckitt Benckiser to raise more than £1bn. The proceeds are widely expected to be used by the family, which owns the fragrance group Coty, to [...]
Aviva exits Malaysia May 9, 2012 BRITISH insurance firm Aviva has put its Malaysian operations on the block and is close to hiring a bank to help with the sale process, according to reports. The deal, which is in its early stages, could raise around $200m (£124m). Aviva has a long held ambition to exit non-core markets as part of strategy [...]
KWIK-FIT EXEC HIRED TO FIX THOMAS COOK May 9, 2012 THOMAS Cook, the debt-laden tour operator, yesterday named Michael Healy (above) as its new chief financial officer after the departure of Paul Hollingworth. Healy, formerly finance director at car servicer Kwik-Fit, will take the seat on 1 July. The 170 year old company is also seeking a new chief executive following the departure of Manny [...]
