Decluttering after Christmas? Tax expert clarifies rules for selling unwanted gifts on eBay and Vinted
ING to reopen bailout talks May 9, 2012 DUTCH financial services group ING is set to renegotiate a restructuring agreed with the European Commission in return for a €10bn (£8bn) bailout, potentially resulting in fewer sales of smaller assets. ING said it has begun discussions with the Dutch government and it will soon start talks with the European Commission. The firm’s first-quarter net [...]
BLACKSTONE SNAPS UP DEVONSHIRE SQUARE May 9, 2012 BLACKSTONE Group has expanded its property presence in London, buying the 12-building Devonshire Square office and retail complex from rival Rockpoint and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The deal was signed on Friday for just under £340m – about 17 per cent below the £410m paid by Rockpoint and ADIA for the five-acre site in [...]
Galliford doubles its dividend May 9, 2012 Housebuilder Galliford Try doubled its interim dividend yesterday as its pre-tax profit soared 89 per cent to £32.3m in the first half of the year, adding to signs of stabilisation in the housing market in the face of severe economic uncertainties. Galliford also announced that its finance director Frank Nelson will be retiring at the [...]
Savills says London holding up well May 9, 2012 Real estate firm Savills said the UK property market was holding up well, particularly in London, to offset slower markets in Asia. The firm experienced a dip in top-end sale volumes after the Budget, but said they had now “substantially recovered”. Yet the rest of Europe remains weak, and transactions are being delayed or scrapped [...]
Derwent makes more lettings May 9, 2012 Property group Derwent has credited London’s burgeoning technology sector for its rise in lettings at the start of 2012, as it ploughed ahead with new development projects. The firm has made 23 lettings in the year to date, worth over £8m per year, and gained planning permission for half a million square feet of building [...]
Output rises at Glencore but no word on Xstrata May 9, 2012 COMMODITIES giant Glencore yesterday said trading was robust in the first quarter, ahead of its first shareholder meeting since going public. The firm said its mining projects were on schedule despite power outages, rain and equipment glitches. The world’s largest diversified commodities trader gave no update on its $35bn (£21.7bn) takeover of miner Xstrata, but [...]
Sage knocked back by cuts to tech investment across Europe May 9, 2012 SOFTWARE firm Sage said yesterday its first-half revenue growth slowed, missing forecasts and sending shares down sharply as its small business customers in Europe faced tough trading conditions. The company, which provides accounting and other business tools for more than 6m small and medium-sized enterprises, met market expectations with a two per cent rise in [...]
US corporate results round up May 9, 2012 AOL beats forecasts AOL reported better-than-expected quarterly results yesterday and said it intends to hand over to shareholders 100 per cent of the proceeds from its patent sales to Microsoft. First-quarter net income rose to $21m (£13m), up from $4.7m a year earlier. Revenue fell four per cent to $529.4m but came in slightly above [...]
Toyota aims to treble earnings and margins in the next year May 9, 2012 TOYOTA expects to treble its operating profit this year to more than $12.5bn (£7.8bn) – still less than half what it earned before the global financial crisis – as Japan’s top carmaker recovers lost ground in markets from the United States to China. Operating profit jumped more than five-fold in the first quarter of the [...]
Gas slump dents orders at Weir but overall profits are on track May 9, 2012 ENGINEERING group Weir yesterday said it would meet expectations for 2012, as buoyant demand for pumps and valves in the mining and power markets offset a weaker performance in its oil and gas division. The company, which in 2011 twice upgraded its profit guidance as it reaped the benefits of the booming US shale gas [...]
