Property aids profit surge at Blackstone February 3, 2011 PRIVATE equity and real estate investor Blackstone Group said it will start fundraising for its next real estate fund this year, expected to be the same size as its $10bn (£6.2bn) 2008 fund. Blackstone said the value of its real estate funds rose 19 per cent for the quarter and 69 per cent for the [...]
Deutsche Bank bullish on 2011 February 3, 2011 DEUTSCHE Bank is winning market share to combat falling margins in its key investment banking arm and is confident of its ambitious 2011 profit target, top bosses said yesterday. The bank also revealed an average investment banker pay of over $500,000 (£309,000) each last year, a bigger bonanza than that enjoyed by employees of the [...]
Munich Re ups dividend despite rise in claims as natural disasters take a toll February 3, 2011 EARTHQUAKES, storms and floods sent claims soaring and dented profits at Munich Re last year but the world’s biggest reinsurer said it could manage to maintain earnings at a high level, boosting its share price. In a sign it was expecting less earnings volatility ahead, Munich Re said yesterday it would bump up its dividend [...]
L&G reaps reward from restructuring its US debt February 3, 2011 LEGAL & General has made a £46m pre-tax profit after buying back £271.3m of debt in the US. L&G has also cut its funding cost by £8m per annum through restructuring the debt, which was required as a reserve by its US life insurance business. The deal will add £82m to L&G’s capital buffers, its [...]
Investec sees good fund inflows offset slump in demand for loans February 3, 2011 SOUTH African investment bank and asset manger Investec said profit rose slightly in the first nine months of the year, as a strong fund business helped offset weak demand for loans. Investec, which operates in South Africa, Britain and Australia and is also listed in London, said demand for credit and deal activity remained subdued. [...]
Claridges owner wins NAMA case February 3, 2011 AN IRISH property developer, whose assets include London luxury hotels Claridges, the Connaught and the Berkeley, yesterday won a legal challenge to stop the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) acquiring his loans, a ruling that complicates the operations of the state-run agency, dubbed the “bad bank”. Ireland’s Supreme Court said yesterday a decision to acquire [...]
BIG SPENDERS BOOST MASTERCARD February 3, 2011 MASTERCARD’S fourth-quarter profit rose more than expected, as consumers around the world spent more money using credit and debit cards. The world’s second-largest credit and debit card network, headed by Ajay Banga (above), reported a quarterly profit of $415m (£257m), or $3.16 per share, compared with $294m, or $2.24 per share, a year earlier.
BT surprises the market as profits surge February 3, 2011 BT shares jumped over three per cent yesterday after the telecoms giant unveiled better than expected results, buoyed by improvements at its Global Services division. BT’s core profit rose seven per cent to £1.48bn in the last quarter of 2010, despite a three per cent sales decline, as it continued to slash costs. Global Services’ [...]
Vodafone beats expectations February 3, 2011 SMARTPHONE sales helped push Vodafone’s fourth-quarter ahead of expectations yesterday, with total revenues jumping 3.5 per cent to £11.89bn. Revenue in the UK grew seven per cent to £1.26bn, its highest since the second quarter of 2007. The growth was fuelled by an explosion in smartphone uptake, with 49 per cent of contract customers now [...]
COMPANY PROFILE February 3, 2011 PACE, which has been quietly building set top boxes for pay-TV firms for almost 30 years, is now the biggest player in its field. Having been around to experience the explosion in satellite TV in the late 1980s, it probably thought its high-growth days were behind it. It couldn’t have been more wrong: in 2009, [...]
