News Corp cash in spotlight February 15, 2012 CASH payments totalling six figures are suspected to have reached the pockets of public officials, in light of evidence which suggests ten of thousands of pounds were spent each year by News Corp journalists in the UK to keep police officers and other civil servants on retainers. “This is not about sources or expenses,” a [...]
Thorntons’ profits hit by weak Xmas February 15, 2012 THORNTONS’ profits took a turn for the worse in the first half of the year, crashing more than 90 per cent after the chocolatier was forced to slash prices to lure cash-strapped shoppers. Profits fell to £618,000 in the 28 weeks to 7 January, compared with £8.3m in the first half. Excluding £2.4m of exceptional [...]
Sports Direct plans dividend February 15, 2012 BRITAIN’S biggest sporting goods retailer Sports Direct International said it would consider paying a dividend at the end of its fiscal year, following strong third-quarter results. Shares of the company, controlled by Newcastle United soccer club owner Mike Ashley, rose as much as 6.2 per cent to 279.2p yesterday — their highest level in nearly [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS THORNTONS’ PLAN TO TURN ITSELF AROUND WORKING? February 15, 2012 DAVID JEARY | INVESTEC While there are some encouraging signs in various aspects of the early stages of the implementation of the group’s strategic plan, we believe a higher level of investor confidence requires positive forecast momentum to underpin Thornton’s progress on its strategic plan. AMISHA CHOHAN | MERCHANT SECURITIES The strategy to reduce their [...]
TPG bids to GlobeOp shareholders February 15, 2012 TPG Capital yesterday issued an official offer document to GlobeOp’s shareholders, detailing terms and conditions of its £508m bid to buy the financial services company as well as laying out acceptance procedures. Financial software provider SS&C, which last week announced it was considering options to bid for GlobeOp, responded with a statement reiterating its continuing [...]
Profits shorten at Marriott hotels February 15, 2012 Marriott International, the hotelier whose brands include Ritz-Carlton and Residence Inn, reported a lower quarterly profit but raised the lower end of its 2012 forecast for a key industry revenue metric. Fourth quarter net income was $141m (£89.9m), or 41 cents a diluted share, compared with $173m, or 46 cents a share, a year earlier. [...]
February rise for Aussie exchange February 15, 2012 Australia’s ASX Ltd, operator of Asia’s fourth-largest bourse, reported a 2.9 per cent rise in half-year profits and said it expected market conditions to remain challenging in anticipation of rival Chi-X’s arrival. Sharp market volatility slammed trading revenue in the December quarter, but ASX said average daily cash market activity in the first two weeks [...]
Weir stock is most shorted on FTSE 100 February 15, 2012 ENGINEERING firm Weir has become the most shorted stock on the FTSE 100, as investors bet the company’s share price will be dented by weak demand for specialist mining equipment. Information provided by Data Explorers showed that 13.48 per cent of shares are out on loan – double the amount that were shorted only three [...]
Apple shoots past Samsung to nab top smartphone spot February 15, 2012 APPLE is again the top smartphone vendor in the world after selling 35.5m smartphones in the fourth quarter of last year and growing its market share to 23.8 per cent, according to research from Gartner. Samsung was hot on Apple’s heels, selling 34m out of the total 149m smartphones sold in the quarter. Around 472m [...]
MOULTON READY TO SPEND AGAIN February 15, 2012 Better Capital, the fund launched by private equity veteran Jon Moulton, yesterday said there are good prospects for further turnaround investments. It also said all its portfolio companies are making “solid progress” and that it was looking at opportunities “across a wide range of sectors”. The firm’s first turnaround fund has £24.9m left to invest. [...]
