BP asset sale hits profits as output slides April 27, 2011 OIL giant BP revealed a two per cent dip in profits in the first-quarter of this year, as its fire sale to cover the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill ate into production levels. The energy firm made replacement cost profits of $5.5bn (£3.3bn) in the three months to 31 March, from $5.6bn [...]
Lazard suffers as restructuring revenue drops April 27, 2011 INVESTMENT bank Lazard revealed a five per cent slip in profits over the first three months of this year, as revenue from its restructuring business dropped. The US lender’s restructuring business performed well during the financial downturn as ailing businesses and governments looked to sell assets and restructure liabilities. But as the economy recovers, there [...]
QUEEN’S FORMER SPINNER TAKES CENTRE STAGE AT ROYAL WEDDING April 27, 2011 TONY Blair and Gordon Brown have been snubbed from the Royal Wedding – as has Brown’s former spin doctor Simon Lewis, despite his previous incarnation as the first head of communications for the Queen between 1998 and 2000. Lewis, who is now the chief executive of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, will still [...]
Credit Suisse profits higher than forecast April 27, 2011 CREDIT Suisse delivered a solid first-quarter performance yesterday only marred by a large debt writedown that pulled profits down 45 per cent. Strong revenues in its investment banking division and healthy fund inflows generated group pre-tax profit of SwFr1.6bn Swiss francs (£1.1bn), higher than the consensus forecast for SwFr 1.5bn. However, its profit was down [...]
Swiss property drive shows how 50p tax is driving homebuyers cuckoo April 27, 2011 INTEREST in Swiss properties has surged by 174 per cent in the last two years, as high-net-worth individuals run for the hills to escape the UK’s 50 per cent tax rate. According to research by property website Primelocation.com, from December 2008 to February 2009 the number of searches for properties in Switzerland rose 43 per [...]
Our drive for economic growth is unstoppable April 27, 2011 THE pessimists thought it would be a train crash, but it was averted at the last moment. In the film thriller Unstoppable, the runaway freight locomotive screeches around the corner, just avoiding flying off the rails into a toxic depot. And so it is with the apparently unstoppable UK economy. Just as it screeches to [...]
Moody’s profits up 37 per cent April 27, 2011 Bond ratings company Moody’s yesterday posted a rise in first-quarter profit, topping Wall Street expectations, and raised its dividend as corporate debt issuance jumped. Net income rose 37 per cent to $155.5m (£94.3m) from $113.4m a year earlier, equating to a 43 per cent rise in earnings per share to 67 cents, from 47 cents [...]
Amdega enters administration April 27, 2011 Darlington-based conservatory and greenhouse company Amdega has gone into administration. Mark Firmin and Brian Green from KPMG’s restructuring practice have been appointed as joint administrators to Amdega, which is being wound down by administrators as there is no prospect for a sale of the business. Most of the 197 local employees have been made redundant.
UK consumer morale dives again in April April 27, 2011 UK consumers remain sunk in gloom about both their personal finances and the economic outlook, a key barometer published today showed. The GfK NOP consumer confidence index fell in April, after holding steady in February and March, as fears over household finances and the affordability of major purchases increased. The fall, to -31 from -28 [...]
S&P shifts Japan’s credit rating outlook to negative April 27, 2011 JAPAN’S sovereign credit rating received a downgrade threat from US agency Standard & Poor’s yesterday on concern that the cost of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March will damage its public finances. S&P lowered the outlook on Japan’s long-term rating to negative from stable, meaning a downgrade of its sovereign rating is possible if [...]
