Intel hits strong results despite weak market April 19, 2011 CHIPMAKER Intel revealed bumper first-quarter results yesterday, despite saying it had experienced faltering consumer markets in North America and western Europe. “There’s no doubt the consumer market is a little weaker than I would personally like,” UK managing director Graham Palmer told City A.M. The development comes in Intel’s first trading update since the VAT [...]
MEMO TO KING: DON’T IGNORE THE BIG PICTURE April 19, 2011 TIMES are tough in the public sector – and nowhere more so than at the Bank of England, where staff are feeling the effects of a pay freeze until 2013. To raise morale as the cuts hit home, The Capitalist hears the Bank of England has introduced a Better Place to Work scheme, an ongoing [...]
Profits target upped by J&J April 19, 2011 HEALTHCARE giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) yesterday upped its profit forecast for this year, despite a first-quarter slump caused by product recalls. The US firm revealed earnings of $3.48bn (£2.1bn) for the first three months of this year, down 23 per cent on the $4.53bn it made over the same period a year earlier. Recalling [...]
Novartis sales up despite franc April 19, 2011 NOVARTIS, the Swiss pharmaceuticals group, yesterday reported a first-quarter sales jump despite taking a hit from the strong Swiss franc over the first three months of this year. Sales at the group, which has just wrapped up its buyout of US eyecare firm Alcon, rose 14 per cent in constant currencies to $14bn (£8.6bn), boosted [...]
VOICE OF THE CITY April 19, 2011 THE latest City A.M. Voice of the City panel is now online. To participate go to www.cityam.com/panel and answer the questions below. Results will be published in next Tuesday’s paper. All data provided is confidential and will not be shared with any other party. Do you think that Gordon Brown is a suitable candidate to [...]
Ryanair to trial reserved seats April 19, 2011 RYANAIR is introducing pre-booked seating on some of its low-cost routes, charging passenger an extra £10 each way for the premium service. The system will be trialled on routes from Dublin to London Gatwick and Malaga from mid-May, with 24 seats with extra leg room available for pre-booking. Also yesterday rival airline EasyJet said it [...]
Pension access plans dropped April 19, 2011 SAVERS will not be allowed to dip into their pension funds before they retire, the Treasury said yesterday following a consultation on flexibility. The government said workers will only have access to their pension funds after the age of 55, in line with current rules, saying early access would not encourage saving for retirement. The [...]
Tesco profit up but UK hit by dip in sales April 19, 2011 TESCO chief executive Philip Clarke yesterday issued a six-point mission statement aimed at putting the retailer back on track after disappointing results. UK like-for-like sales excluding fuel in the fourth-quarter saw a 0.7 per cent year-on-year drop as consumers reined in their spending. Clarke, who took over from Sir Terry Leahy last month, said the [...]
Burberry on expansion trail April 19, 2011 FASHION company Burberry said yesterday it would expand its store space by ten per cent after it produced another set of stellar results. Its revenues soared by 32 per cent in the three months to March and Burberry said profit for the full-year would be at the top end of expectations. Burberry has been boosted [...]
Crossrail chooses building shortlist for four stations April 19, 2011 CROSSRAIL management has picked a shortlist of companies to build four stations on the new pan-London railway, bringing the chosen construction firms closer to work worth nearly £1bn. A joint bid by Costain and Skanska has won a place on the shortlist for all four stations, while rivals including Laing O’Rourke, Ferrovial, Lend Lease and [...]
