PROPERTY NEWS February 2, 2012 NEW DEVELOPMENT TO LAUNCH IN LEWISHAM Contributing to the major regeneration of Lewisham, housing provider, Family Mosaic is delighted to announce the launch of its impressive new development, Central Park, this April. The high specification one, two and three bedroom apartments are in close proximity to neighbouring Blackheath and Greenwich and perfectly placed in one [...]
BUY February 2, 2012 DIRECTOR, DOUGLAS & GORDON Q.I am about to put my flat on the market and have about £5,000 to spend getting it looking it’s best. How should I spend it? A.The trick in selling a property is to realise that most people buy within the first 30 seconds of walking in, so first impressions are [...]
AstraZeneca cuts jobs as takings dive February 2, 2012 ASTRAZENECA is cutting a further 7,300 jobs and expects earnings to fall 14-18 per cent this year as patents on key drugs expire and governments in Europe and the US squeeze prices. Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker said yesterday the latest phase of cuts, equivalent to 12 per cent of the workforce, would deliver an extra $1.6bn [...]
Sony to lurch further into red February 2, 2012 TROUBLED electronics company Sony is set to make its fourth consecutive annual loss – the worst run in its 54 years as a listed firm – as the group yesterday upped its loss forecast from ¥90bn (£750m) to ¥220bn. Sony also slashed its previous operating income forecast of ¥20bn to a ¥95bn loss. The third [...]
Electrolux earnings fall as it faces a tough year February 2, 2012 ELECTROLUX faces further headwinds in debt-ridden Europe this year while the US offers a glimmer of hope, the household appliances maker said yesterday as it reported a near 40 per cent fall in 2011 core earnings. Makers of fridges, washing machines and vacuum cleaners have been buffeted by weak consumer confidence on both sides of [...]
Merck profits impress Wall Street as research spending is trimmed in 2011 February 2, 2012 MERCK & Co yesterday reported better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings, helped by a decrease in research spending, and predicted relatively flat 2012 results as the second biggest US drugmaker girds for cheaper generic forms of its biggest product, asthma drug Singulair. Merck posted a fourth quarter net profit of $1.51bn (£955m), or 49 cents per share, [...]
Viacom shares drop after weaker advertising sales February 2, 2012 VIACOM posted a lower quarterly profit yesterday due to weaker than expected advertising sales at its stable of cable networks, including MTV and Nickelodeon. Viacom shares dropped initially by around four per cent in early trading before recovering as Viacom executives assured investors they had seen a recovery in the market during the current quarter. [...]
WATCHES SHINE AS SWISS EXPORTS DECLINE February 2, 2012 THE SWISS watch industry was the star performer among the country’s exporters last year, with shipments climbing 19.2 per cent in 2011 from a year earlier, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said yesterday. Watch sales, including luxury brands such as Piaget, vastly outperformed other industries, where demand for Swiss goods fell. Total exports from Switzerland [...]
Botox maker’s earnings rise February 2, 2012 Allergan said yesterday its fourth-quarter earnings rose 6.4 per cent, as higher sales of its eye drugs Lumigan and Restasis offset lower-than-expected sales of wrinkle treatment Botox. The company’s forecast for the year was lower than anticipated, sending its shares down 1.8 per cent in mid-morning trading, although some analysts consider the outlook to be [...]
Statoil seeks Iraq sale consent February 2, 2012 Norway’s Statoil wants to sell its stake in a giant 12.9bn barrel oilfield in southern Iraq to Russia’s Lukoil, and the Iraqi oil ministry has no objection “in principle”, an Iraqi oil official said yesterday. Statoil holds 18.75 per cent of the West Qurna Phase-2 field, with Lukoil at 56.25 per cent and Iraq’s North [...]
