CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK JOB SECURITY IN THE CITY IS GETTING WEAKER? August 23, 2011 PAUL POLEVION | CST “Probably yes, I think companies are reluctant to hire and are using agencies a lot more. With the debt and share prices down it’s not a great environment for many industries hiring.” RHYS EVANS | DEVONSHIRE LTD “People working in the City aren’t worried, companies are being very strategic by continuously [...]
Riot-hit shops lost more than 7,500 trading hours August 23, 2011 RETAIL businesses hit by the UK riots lost more than 7,500 trading hours during the disruption, according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). A total of 7,599 lost trading hours were reported by the body’s retail members, whose stores make up more than a quarter of the UK sector by sales. That’s [...]
S&P president leaves after US downgrade August 23, 2011 STANDARD and Poor’s president Deven Sharma yesterday announced that he would leave the ratings agency. In a move described as having “nothing to do with the reaction to the US credit downgrading”, Sharma will stand down next month to pursue other opportunities. The president of four years has always had a rebellious streak, and has [...]
Safe stock for scary times August 23, 2011 Riots on the streets on London, riots on the streets of Birmingham – riots just about everywhere. Prisons are filling up; magistrates courts are working through the night. For most firms, a less safe world is bad news, but not so for G4S, the security giant formed from the merger of Securicor and G4 in [...]
SocGen bucks broking slump with Evo hires August 23, 2011 FRANCE’S number two bank Societe Generale has bucked the downward trend hitting many City brokers by snapping up an equities team from its rival Evolution Securities. SocGen, which employs about 2,300 people in the UK, hired Evolution’s four-man former consumer research and sales team headed by Warren Ackerman, a food, home and personal care analyst. [...]
BP PAYS OUT $5BN IN GULF COMPENSATION August 23, 2011 BP has now paid out more than $5bn to 204,434 victims of last year’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, fund administrator Kenneth Feinberg said yesterday. The pay outs amount to roughly 25 per cent of the $20bn fund, known as the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which was set up a year ago following the [...]
Persimmon profits surge and costs fall August 23, 2011 PERSIMMON saw a pickup in summer sales and enjoyed a surge in first half pre-tax profits as the UK’s third largest housebuilder improved its operating margins and clamped down on development costs. The York-based company, whose brands include Charles Church and Westbury, made an underlying pretax profit of £59.7m in the six months to the [...]
Segro earnings slump despite improving rents August 23, 2011 SEGRO’s net asset value inched forward in the first half of the year while pre-tax profits halved, as the industrial landlord continued to weather tough conditions in the European industrial property markets. Pre-tax profit fell to £64.6m from £148.9m a year earlier, while net asset value per share was up by one pence to 377p [...]
HOW WERE PERSIMMON’S RESULTS? August 23, 2011 RACHAEL WARING | PANMURE GORDON Persimmon delivered a confident but prudent presentation at today’s analysts meeting. In our view, despite ongoing challenging market conditions, the group will continue to deliver increased profitability, primarily driven by improving net margins… though our 2012 forecasts remain conservative for now. CHRIS MILLINGTON | NUMIS Persimmon’s results are better than [...]
G4S focuses on emerging market gains August 23, 2011 SECURITY group G4S has unveiled a plan to make half of its annual revenues from emerging markets by 2018. The FTSE 100 company, whose operations include airport security, is to start the process with a £200m investment, which could include some acquisitions. G4S also reported a five per cent increase in half-year profits from £142m [...]
