AssetCo seeks covenant waivers February 23, 2011 British support services provider AssetCo said it was seeking waivers of certain bank facilities to carry on with its equity-placing plan, and that it was still in talks with various parties on the injection of short-term funds. The troubled company has said that it is considering a share sale to raise £8m immediately, as a [...]
HCA downsizes public listing February 23, 2011 Private equity-backed hospital operator HCA Holdings has slashed the value of its initial public offering (IPO) by 19 per cent, as uncertainty over the future of healthcare stocks remains high. HCA, which set terms for its IPO on Tuesday, now plans to raise up to $3.7bn in a deal that would value it at $15.5bn. [...]
Grain losses hit Wilmar earnings February 23, 2011 Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil plantation firm by market value, reported a 28 per cent decline in quarterly earnings on losses from it oilseeds and grains units, missing forecasts and knocking its shares down five per cent. Wilmar, which has a market value of $27bn, booked an October-December net profit of $318.6m, down [...]
Ferrovial back in profit February 23, 2011 Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial has swung to a net profit in 2010 after a drive to trim debt produced substantial one-time gains from asset sales. Ferrovial, which owns UK airports operator BAA, posted net profit of €2.16bn in 2010, compared with analysts’ forecast for €2.67bn. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell three per [...]
CBI: Fortunes split for UK service sector February 23, 2011 PROFESSIONAL services firms have bounced back to record significant growth for the first time in nearly three years, the Confederation for British Industry (CBI) is expected to announce today. Business volumes for the last three months reached their highest index score – a positive balance of eight per cent – since May 2008. Optimism in [...]
WEBER TALKS TOUGH ON EUROPE February 23, 2011 Bundesbank President Axel Weber said euro nations with large deficits – such as Greece, Portugal and Ireland – must become more competitive to help prevent another sovereign debt crisis. He said: “Countries with current account deficits will have to contribute the most – what is needed are reforms that will improve their competitiveness.”
Appetite for borrowing stays low as mortgage market remains in slump February 23, 2011 BRITAIN’S slump in mortgage lending continued in January, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealed yesterday. Mortgage approvals for house purchases stuck at 28,932 for the month – virtually unchanged from December’s figure of 28,907, which was close to a two-year low. Mortgage approvals tumbled 20.9 per cent year-on-year, to less than half the average monthly [...]
Eurozone new orders in shock rise February 23, 2011 INDUSTRIAL orders in the Eurozone defied expectations in the final month of 2010, official data revealed yesterday. The new orders index, compiled by the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat, jumped by 2.2 per cent in December, compared to the previous month. Across the European Union as a whole, industrial orders rose by 2.5 per cent [...]
France and Italy see prices fall February 23, 2011 French consumer prices dropped 0.2 per cent in January compared to December, official data showed yesterday. The fall reduced the annualised rate of inflation to 1.8 per cent, from two per cent in the last month of 2010. Services, transport and communication prices unexpectedly declined 0.6 per cent on the month, weighing down the figures. [...]
US home sales edge upwards February 23, 2011 US existing home sales rose unexpectedly in January. The National Association of Realtors said sales climbed 2.7 per cent month-on-month to an annual rate of 5.36m units, from a downwardly revised 5.22m units annual rate for the previous month. “The upward trend in existing home sales is set to remain slow and steady rather than [...]
