Dunelm hit by tough trading in its stores April 11, 2012 DUNELM said yesterday trading conditions remained challenging through the third quarter, and the British homewares retailer predicted weak gross margin growth for its full fiscal year. Gross margins increased by 30 basis points compared with the third quarter of the previous year, but the firm said it expected gross margin growth to be 20 basis [...]
Qataris forced to boost offer for Denizbank April 11, 2012 QATAR National Bank (QNB) has made a higher bid for Denizbank, the Turkish unit of stricken Belgian lender Dexia, after earlier talks stalled over price, four sources familiar with the matter said. “The bid has been reactivated, and is on the table,” said one source. “The new offer is closer to what Dexia is expecting,” [...]
CVC in £400m telecoms deal April 11, 2012 CVC CAPITAL Partners has underlined the private equity scramble to the East by agreeing to pay around HK$5bn (£405m) for the telecom and broadband assets of City Telecom HK. The London buyout firm will use its Metropolitan Light Company for Asia’s largest private equity-backed deal this year, which is funded with a HK$2.5bn loan from [...]
Goldman Sachs more than doubles its UK charity spend April 11, 2012 Goldman Sachs has been in the wars of late, reputationally at least, what with former employer Greg Smith claiming that his bosses sometimes described their clients as muppets. Smith also argued that the firm had been losing its moral compass. So it is good to see in the investment bank’s latest accounts that it is [...]
FOOTBALL TRIUMPH FOR WINTERFLOOD April 11, 2012 London’s football clubs are still battling it out for trophies but one prize has already been won in the City. Broker Winterflood beat Smith & Williamson on penalties in the Calastone’s Funds Industry Charity Shield, which raised £12,000 for Research Autism. Julian Palfreyman, chief executive of Winterflood, is shown on the left with (l to [...]
Energy firms in tariff deal after Ofgem probe April 11, 2012 DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg yesterday unveiled a new system under which energy companies will be forced to let customers know what their best deal is. The move could save households up to £100 a year, according to ministers who have called for the change. Energy companies will be obliged to tell people about the [...]
CITY VIEWS DO YOU FIND ENERGY TARIFFS CONFUSING?* April 11, 2012 EDWARD GRIGSON MOTABILITY OPERATIONS Yes. There are so many of them out there. It would be good for the companies to explain which is best rather than having to work it out from all the options. I suspect many people will switch tariff. ROZ FLEMING FIDELITY Yes – I pay by direct debit and I [...]
Indonesia buys Airbus planes April 11, 2012 INDONESIAN airline Garuda has agreed to buy 11 Airbus planes, in a deal that Prime Minister David Cameron said will support UK jobs. Garuda’s purchase of the A330 jets is worth around $2.5bn (£1.6bn), with factories in Britain working on the wings. Cameron said the deal was “good news for the UK aerospace industry”. The [...]
PM thinks again on charity tax April 11, 2012 DAVID CAMERON raised hopes that a planned tax relief on charitable donations could be watered down yesterday. The Prime Minister started to row back from plans to stamp out abuse of charitable giving, saying yesterday he will listen “very sympathetically” to the concerns voiced by charities themselves, which have warned the rules will reduce donations. [...]
Terry Smith’s dividend boost nets him £7.5m April 11, 2012 CITY veteran and Tullett Prebon chief executive Terry Smith picked up £7.5m including pay and dividends last year. Smith’s bonus was cut by a sixth to £3.38m, half of which came in shares which he cannot cash in until 2014, but he received free shares and dividends worth nearly £3.5m. Tullett, a major interdealer broker, [...]
