Dividend soon on Apple stock February 23, 2012 APPLE could be close to paying a dividend, it was revealed, as chief executive Tim Cook told investors the board is “thinking about this very deeply.” He dropped the hint during the company’s first annual general meeting since the death of Steve Jobs, who famously refused to pay a dividend. Apple is sitting on a [...]
Goldman M&A stalwart retires February 23, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs M&A banker Luca Ferrari, an adviser to mining group Xstrata on its potential mega-merger with Glencore, is retiring after 12 years with the firm, according to a company memo. Ferrari is currently responsible for the northern European mergers and acquisitions business and became a partner in 2006. Prior to Goldman, he spent nine [...]
Centrica sees mild weather dent profits February 23, 2012 CENTRICA yesterday said that milder weather in the UK had reduced energy consumption and dented profits. But the British Gas owner said its production and exploration business was booming – with profits up a third – as commodity prices rise. The company’s full-year adjusted operating profit was up one per cent year-on-year in 2011 at £2.42bn. [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW DO YOU RATE CENTRICA? February 23, 2012 KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWN The results continue to underline management’s strategy to create a more balanced business. The expanding upstream business has effectively compensated for more difficult conditions for its downstream supply operations. In all, the progressive dividend policy remains attractive. Its diversified energy play continues to grow. We say Buy. GRAHAM SPOONER THE SHARE [...]
P&G set to cut 5,700 positions February 23, 2012 PROCTER & Gamble plans to cut about 5,700 non-manufacturing jobs as part of a new plan to reduce costs by $10bn by the end of fiscal 2016, chief executive Bob McDonald said yesterday. The world’s largest household products company has about 57,000 non-manufacturing employees among its total workforce of about 129,000. P&G also trimmed earnings [...]
AIG reports a $19.8bn profit February 23, 2012 BAILED-OUT insurer AIG last night reported a whopping $19.8bn (£12.6bn) profit for the fourth quarter, nearly double the amount seen this time last year, after an accounting determination let it release the value of some tax benefits. And the firm’s property insurance unit, Chartis, returned to profitability in the quarter. It earned $348m, despite $368m [...]
Claims rise as takings triple for Swiss Re February 23, 2012 SWISS Re bucked the market trend and tripled its profit in 2011, despite a series of natural disasters that severely damaged the insurance industry. The firm beat expectations to record a full-year profit of $2.63bn (£1.68bn), compared with $863m in 2010. Swiss Re also announced plans to raise its dividend and said the current year [...]
RSA earnings soar but plan to cut dividend sinks shares February 23, 2012 RSA Insurance, the firm previously known as Royal and Sun Alliance, yesterday posted a higher than expected profit for 2011 as cost cuts helped offset big catastrophe claims. But shares in the insurer sunk 4.9 per cent to 107p, the biggest fall in the FTSE 100, after the firm announced plans to rein in its [...]
Lancashire looks upbeat for 2012 February 23, 2012 BRITISH insurer and reinsurer Lancashire reported a better-than-expected 2011 profit even though natural disasters drove a 55 per cent increase in claims. The firm, which insures ships, oil rigs and aircraft, said its 2011 pre-tax profit fell 35 per cent to £139.3m, still ahead of analysts’ predictions. The decline was driven by earthquakes in Japan and [...]
Tough year for insurer Allianz February 23, 2012 GERMAN insurer Allianz saw its profits tumble after a series of disasters decimated the insurance market during 2011. Net income for the year was €2.8bn, compared to €5.2bn the year before, mainly due to a write-down in the value of Greek debt and record claims from earthquakes and storms. Revenue slipped slightly to €103.6bn. “2011 [...]
