H&M sees February sales rise March 15, 2012 Sales at world no.2 fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz’s established stores unexpectedly grew for a third consecutive month in February despite gloom in its biggest market Germany. Turnover at the Swedish firm’s stores open a year or more grew two per cent in local currencies, against an average forecast for a one per cent drop. [...]
F&C takes hit as outflows reach £7bn March 15, 2012 SHARES in F&C Asset Management sank nearly five per cent yesterday after it posted £7.2bn of net outflows during last year. The fund management firm, which has endured a turbulent 12 months including a boardroom coup and a series of job cuts, saw total assets under management drop 5.4 per cent to £100.1bn after the [...]
Wind down of PE fund may take five years March 15, 2012 THE WIND down of troubled private equity fund LMS Capital will take between three and five years, it said yesterday. LMS is realising its funds after a peace deal was agreed at the end of last year following a public dispute between shareholders. Yesterday the firm said it aims to make initial payments to shareholders [...]
Deposits growth helps Arbuthnot raise profits March 15, 2012 ARBUTHNOT Banking, one of Britain’s smaller financial services groups, posted a 24 per cent rise in annual pre-tax profits, helped by growth in customer deposits and loans. Arbuthnot, whose activities include private and retail banking, reported pre-tax profits of £5.1m for the year ending in December, up from £4.1m last year. The company, which listed [...]
Investec eyes upturn as deals drought hits profit March 15, 2012 THE DIRE performance of the investment banking industry claimed another scalp yesterday as Investec warned that earnings would fall by up to 27 per cent. The bank, a Test cricket sponsor with a London listing, was hit by the global slump in primary deals, particularly in its South Africa homeland. It experienced mixed results across [...]
TPG extends GlobeOp timeline March 15, 2012 TPG, the US private equity house which wants to buy GlobeOp, has extended its offer period by a fortnight to 28 March. It is competing against fellow bidder SS&C Technologies for the hedge fund administrator, which is based in London and New York. Earlier this week SS&C, a US financial software firm, made a 485p-a-share [...]
Witan Trust sees dip in NAV March 15, 2012 Witan, the 103-year-old investment trust, said yesterday it had seen a disappointing 2011 as its net asset value (NAV) per ordinary share dipped and its performance fell below its benchmark index. NAV per ordinary share on a debt at par value fell from 584.4p to 516.9p – a 11.6 per cent drop. Share buy-backs fell [...]
Cable in bid to ease red tape at small firms March 15, 2012 A NEW “no fault” dismissal rule could be brought in to make it easier for very small firms to lay off unproductive staff, business secretary Vince Cable (pictured) said yesterday. Cable launched a consultation on proposals to allow firms with fewer than 10 staff to lay off staff more easily, though they would have to [...]
More than one in three on incapacity are declared fit March 15, 2012 MORE than one in three people claiming incapacity benefit are fit for work, according to the government’s first round of reassessments. Around 37 per cent of the 141,100 claimants given a fresh interview were found to be fit for work, while 34 per cent are eligible for benefits and help getting back to work, and [...]
Broadbent: high debt will not stop a rate rise March 15, 2012 HIGH levels of consumer and corporate debt should not stop the Bank of England raising interest rates, a top official said yesterday, arguing that exposure to other countries, rather than high levels of domestic debt, caused the banking crisis. The monetary policy committee’s (MPC) Ben Broadbent played down the current period of deleveraging, arguing that [...]
