Glencore narrows float price range May 16, 2011 GLENCORE has narrowed the price range for its $11bn (£6.8bn) float at the higher end of its range, despite a crash in commodity prices last week. The commodity trader began its investor roadshow with a 480p-580p price range, the midpoint of which values the company at around $60bn. However, it is now targeting a narrower [...]
GOOGLE SEARCHES BOND MARKET FOR INVESTORS May 16, 2011 GOOGLE hit the US bond market yesterday, selling $3bn of three, five and ten year notes to help repay shorter-term debts and fund operations. The internet giant, fronted by Eric Schmidt (pictured), hired Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to run the sale of the bonds, which garnered an Aa2 rating from credit agency Moody’s.
Boots UK sees slow sales as KKR stays on May 16, 2011 ALLIANCE Boots yesterday warned of a slow UK market compared with its international performance, and confirmed that investor Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts (KKR) will be staying on board. Boots UK – the group’s main health, beauty and pharmacy chain in Britain – reported a like-for-like sales increase of 0.5 per cent in the year to [...]
JC Penney’s cost-cutting pays off May 16, 2011 JC Penney reported a higher quarterly profit yesterday as it benefited from increased sales of its exclusive merchandise and cost-cutting. The department store operator raised its full-year profit forecast, sending its shares up six per cent. Penney reported that first-quarter net income rose 6.7 per cent to $64m (£39.4m) from $60m. In recent years the [...]
HMV sets out worst case scenario May 16, 2011 Embattled retailer HMV has secretly warned that it could make as little as £3m in profits within two years. A report prepared by the music chain’s creditors show that, if it sells its Canadian arm and Waterstone’s, its core profitability could dramatically slip. The worst case scenario report sits in stark contrast to its £30m [...]
Urban Outfitters sees sales rise May 16, 2011 US-based retailer Urban Outfitters posted a rise in its first-quarter revenue that beat market estimates last night, helped by higher sales at its direct-to-consumer and wholesale segments. Shares of the operator of Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People and Terrain stores rose three per cent in after-hours trading. The company posted net income of $39m (£24m), [...]
H&M SALES LIFTED BY THE SUNSHINE May 16, 2011 HOT weather in key European markets and an Easter holiday helped Swedish budget fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz post its biggest rise in sales in eight months in April. The world’s second biggest-clothes retailer by sales posted an 11 per cent year-on-year rise in sales, beating forecasts. The strong April sales figure followed a five [...]
Mary Queen of Shops in high street review May 16, 2011 RETAIL guru Mary Portas is launching a rescue campaign to save Britain’s struggling high streets, after being called in by Prime Minister David Cameron. TV’s “Queen of Shops” wants giant supermarket chains like Tesco to hand over some of their profit to help independent shops. The management consultant has been identified as someone with the [...]
Retail experts fear chains will be ignored by Portas May 16, 2011 THE BRITISH Retail Consortium (BRC) has expressed fears that a review of the UK high street by TV’s Mary Portas will favour independent shops at the expense of chains. Portas’s government appointment tasks her with breathing new life into the struggling retail sector. She is known for championing independent shops through her TV shows, but [...]
New claims of sex crimes hit Strauss-Kahn May 16, 2011 Dominique Strauss-Kahn cut a grim figure as he stood before a New York court, and the world’s TV cameras, to deny charges of sexual assault and attempted rape of a New York hotel maid. Dressed in a black jacket, the 62-year-old remained silent as he was denied bail by the US judge. He was deemed [...]
