IMF slams US for incomplete budget April 6, 2011 THE United States should include in its budget the cost of mortgage loan guarantees and other housing supports, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday in a rare criticism of its biggest shareholder. The IMF also faulted the Obama administration for failing to address the tax deduction for mortgage interest, which it called “both expensive [...]
€14M WAR CHEST FOR WIGLEY’S FILM PLOT April 6, 2011 EACH year, the Big Curry Lunch hosted by Lord Mayor Michael Bear gets “bigger and better” according to Bear, with 800 guests from the City, Parliament and Livery Companies sitting down to three servings yesterday at the Guildhall. The annual banquet is held in aid of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, and this year’s event raised [...]
M&S sales in surprise lift April 6, 2011 MARKS and Spencer yesterday lifted some of the gloom surrounding the retail sector with a slim sales rise – but the company warned that times will get tougher. The chain – which had been expected to report a sales slump – was given a boost from its food section. Overall its UK like-for-like sales rose [...]
JJB deal hit by row over fees April 6, 2011 ONE of sportswear retailer JJB’s advisers was yesterday forced to defend its role in a £65m financing deal after an attack from a major investor. The investor, who did not want to be named, suggested that Numis Securities had not earned a fee because it had “brought nothing to the party”. JJB launched a £65m [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: CAN M&S BUILD ON ITS UNEXPECTED SALES LIFT? April 6, 2011 MATTHEW MCEACHRAN | SINGER CAPITAL MARKETS This update is slightly better than feared, albeit we believe advertising and promotional costs would have been slightly higher to achieve this. Nevertheless, consensus forecasts should be achieved depending on the final staff bonus costs, we think the shares might see a small relief bounce. MAUREEN HINTON | VERDICT [...]
Prezzo tops expectations April 6, 2011 Pizza restaurant chain Prezzo yesterday posted a 37 per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profit that beat market estimates, driven by new restaurant openings, and said it expected to open at least 20 new restaurants this year. The company, which operates 160 restaurants, raised its final dividend by 12.5 per cent to 0.225p a share [...]
Abercrombie bullish on outlook April 6, 2011 Shares in clothing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch rose up to 11 per cent yesterday as the company provided an optimistic fiscal 2011 outlook in an analyst meeting. Abercrombie also revealed that it expects to achieve the annual sales goal of $7.5bn (£4.6bn) by 2015. The firm said that Hollister stores in Europe have continued to [...]
Commerzbank to pay back €14bn bailout April 6, 2011 GERMANY’S second-largest bank Commerzbank announced its plan for an ambitious capital raising to repay the majority of its government bailout yesterday. The bank said it would raise a total of €11bn (£9.6bn) through an €8.25bn rights issue between May and June, and by converting €2.75bn of the German government’s current non-voting stock into shares. It [...]
Italy’s Intesa to raise €5bn fresh funds April 6, 2011 ITALY’S second-biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo followed German counterpart Commerzbank in announcing a multi-billion euro capital raising yesterday. Intesa, Italy’s biggest retail lender, will raise €5bn (£3.1bn) from the capital markets by July to strengthen its balance sheet ahead of stringent new capital requirements on banks coming into effect in 2013. The fundraising is part of [...]
Hardy sees Japan crisis losses capped at £12m April 6, 2011 JAPAN’S dual earthquake and tsunami catastrophes will cost Lloyd’s insurer Hardy Underwriting between £9m and £12m, it said yesterday. The figure came in below expectations thanks to a series of decisions made by Hardy to contain the impact of a possible crisis, including being well-protected by reinsurance and under-exposed to Japan’s rural coastal areas. The [...]
