The broker who says small firms have to come up with big solutions January 3, 2011 The conventional wisdom is that it is next to impossible for small firms to raise cash, but Phil Adams, chief executive at independent investment broker Altium, says that the picture is more complicated than that. “It is pretty straightforward to raise cash if you are a well-run high-growth firm expanding by around 15 per cent [...]
Next update set to show snow losses January 3, 2011 SEVERAL consumer bellwethers are due to reveal Christmas trading figures this week, with Next, Domino’s Pizza and Clinton Cards kicking off the first reporting season of the year. Clothing retailer Next is due to reveal in a trading update on Wednesday how snow disruption and consumer spending pressures have affected sales over the 24 weeks [...]
Pessimism reigns but FTSE is set to disagree January 3, 2011 So hello and welcome to 2011. On the first day of the year I spent a few hours watching the Back to the Future trilogy, and having seen the predictions for the months ahead I wondered if I shouldn’t jump in the DeLorean and fly straight to 2012, just in time for the Olympics. It’s [...]
Housing minister wants price stability January 3, 2011 HOUSING minister Grant Shapps said yesterday that unaffordable house prices were “crazy”, and he wanted to stabilise the market to bring home-ownership within the reach of more younger people. “It’s crazy that we think in this country it’s normal to have a situation where the most important thing – a roof over somebody’s head – [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 3, 2011 ALTERIAN Panmure Gordon’s latest “buy” rating for the marketing campaign management firm could stick, given the pace of the sector. The broker notes several “nifty’” new products launched by the company as well as operational momentum, at a time when mergers and acquisitions in the marketing software segment “continues apace”. MELROSE RESOURCES Collins Stewart rates [...]
Gas leak hits Gulf of Mexico January 3, 2011 An Exxon Mobil platform in the Gulf of Mexico has been closed following a leak. The “pinhole” leak in a fuel scrubber, reported to the US National Response Center yesterday, caused a mile-long sheen. About five gallons of natural gas escaped, condensing in the Gulf. The leak comes less than a month after the US government [...]
Tesco unveils cash for gold plans January 3, 2011 Supermarket giant Tesco has launched a service allowing customers to swap unwanted gold jewellery for cash. The retailer had trialled the scheme online and in about 15 stores from November. Shoppers are now able to post unwanted gold jewellery to designated stores. Tesco pledges on its website to pay £7.81 per gram of nine carat [...]
Indian shares boosted by autos January 3, 2011 Shares in the Indian market have been trading 0.5 per cent up yesterday in a strong start to 2011. The firm asian market was boosted by car manufacturers who saw robust December sales. Tata Motors jumped 2.1 per cent after recording a 31 per cent increase in vehicle sales. Leading utility vehicle maker Mahindra & [...]
Travel group bosses gain after failure January 3, 2011 THE former finance director of Europe’s largest tour operator has pocketed a £757,000 share deal just weeks after he stepped down over a £117m black hole in the firm’s accounts. Paul Botwell, who exited TUI Travel in October, gained from a share payout to five senior directors amounting to £4.9m on 30 December. Chief executive [...]
City streetworks vital for business success January 3, 2011 ANYBODY who has ventured out onto the Square Mile’s streets knows the City’s microclimate – shaped by a so-called urban heat island effect – has not escaped the Arctic winter. The freezing weather has caused transport misery for people up and down the country and unfortunately, at the risk of stating the obvious, the weather [...]
