Break up the banks, says Hoenig February 23, 2011 Banks seen as “too big to fail” pose a danger to the American economy, outspoken Federal Reserve official Thomas Hoenig said last night. “We must break up the largest banks, and could do so by expanding the Volcker Rule,” he said, endorsing “Glass Steagall-type” provisions that aim to prevent risky activities.
Logica says it will return to profit growth February 23, 2011 IT SERVICES firm Logica said it will return to growth in 2011 as its main UK and Dutch markets recover and consulting picks up pace after reporting a flat profit for the last year. Chief executive Andy Green said the level of growth would depend on the economic recovery in Europe, but he expected to [...]
Virgin to issue £750m bond February 23, 2011 VIRGIN Media yesterday announced a £750m senior secured notes issue. The 10-year bonds will be made available in a private placement. The notes will rank on an equal footing with Virgin Media’s senior credit facility and its existing senior secured notes due 2018. Virgin intends to use the notes’ proceeds to refinance a portion of its [...]
Everything Everywhere sees revenue and profits slide but adds customers February 23, 2011 Everything Everywhere, the entity formed by the merging of France Telecom’s Orange and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile, yesterday reported weak results for the last quarter. Its revenue dropped two per cent in the nine months from April last year – when the merger went through – from £5.4bn to £5.3bn. Underlying profit was £1bn, down from [...]
Cable & Wireless Communications sells Bermuda operations for £43m February 23, 2011 Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) yesterday announced the sale of its business in Bermuda to Canada’s Bragg Group for $70m (£43m). The deal comes just three months after CWC said it would buy a majority stake in Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), the state-owned mobile operator, for $210m to boost its Caribbean operations. Bragg Group, a [...]
AppSense raises $70m investment from Goldman February 23, 2011 UK technology firm AppSense has raised $70m (£43m) in investment from Goldman Sachs. Pete Perrone, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, will join the company’s board of directors as part of the deal. AppSense is the market leader in “desktop virtualisation,” a technology that allows users to easily multi-task between devices, facilitating working from home [...]
Travis profit lift fuelled by DIY recovery February 23, 2011 BUILDERS’ merchant and do-it-yourself retailer Travis Perkins said yesterday it was currently trading well because essential repair and maintenance work suspended in the recession was now being done. The firm posted a better than expected 20.4 per cent rise in 2010 underlying profit to £216.7m. It said it had gained market share from rivals and [...]
Hill threat to Ladbrokes deal February 23, 2011 BOOKMAKER William Hill has launched legal action to disrupt merger talks between its joint-venture partner Playtech and close rival Ladbrokes. The company said it had secured an interim injunction against Playtech in an attempt to safeguard its legal rights. Ladbrokes and Playtech are exploring a possible £2.2bn merger. William Hill said that Playtech – which [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR TRAVIS PERKINS IN 2011? February 23, 2011 JOHN MESSENGER | RBS With year to date trading positive and its starting valuation undemanding ahead of potential consensus upgrades if market share gains continue, we re- iterate our ‘buy’ rating. The full-year dividend at 15p is in line, net debt at £774m is below our estimates. KEVIN LAPWOOD | SEYMOUR PIERCE All in all [...]
Galliford in boost from new homes February 23, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER and construction company Galliford Try’s first-half adjusted pre-tax profit rose 29 per cent on a pickup in housebuilding demand, and the company raised its interim dividend by 36 per cent. The company, which was founded by W S Try in 1908 as a construction business carrying out work in west London, said that housebuilding [...]
