Homeowners relaxed about negative equity December 14, 2010 IN the latest YouGov SixthSense Mortgages Report, mortgage holders were asked to estimate the current value of their household and cost of their mortgage. Ninety-one per cent who were able to give these figures were in positive equity with nearly one in ten recording a no equity or negative equity score. This data is in [...]
CITY VIEWS: WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PAY FOR SMARTPHONE APPS? December 14, 2010 ALAN NELSON | THREADNEEDLE “At the moment, I have a Blackberry provided by my company, which doesn’t have any apps on it. All I have on it at the moment is a few games. I’m going to wait until my contract is reviewed in January and then see if I get an iPad.” NICK BOOT [...]
App sales to hit $35bn December 14, 2010 APP sales are set to rocket to $35bn (£22.2bn) a year by 2014, according to new research by IDC. A staggering 10.9bn apps for devices including smartphones and tablets such as Apple’s iPad will be downloaded this year alone, with the number rising to 76.9bn annually in 2014 – a growth rate of around 60 [...]
Bunzl says US growth helps to boost sales December 14, 2010 BUNZL, the distribution and outsourcing company, predicted full-year revenue growth would meet expectations as strength at its US business and acquisitions offset sales falls in Britain and Ireland. FTSE 100-listed Bunzl, which supplies products such as carrier bags, take-away boxes and healthcare products related to the H1N1 flu virus, said in a trading statement it [...]
Japanese tax received coolly December 14, 2010 Japan’s plan to boost its ailing economy by cutting corporate taxes got a guarded welcome from business yesterday, but is unlikely to help restore the fortunes of unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Kan gave orders on Monday for a five percentage point cut in the tax rate from the year starting next April, despite the [...]
Nissan and Mitsubishi expand ties to cut costs December 14, 2010 NISSAN and Mitsubishi Motors said yesterday that they would deepen their operational ties to make better use of their resources as a strong yen makes competing tougher for Japanese automakers. Nissan and Mitsubishi, Japan’s third and sixth largest carmakers respectively in 2009, have been working together since 2003, mainly involving Mitsubishi Motors building 660cc minivehicles [...]
Drax expects to beat market forecasts December 14, 2010 DRAX, the operator of Britain’s largest coal-fired power station, said yesterday it expects its earnings for the full-year to be slightly ahead of current market consensus. “While the commodity markets in which we operate remain challenging, as previously described, we benefit from a strong contracted position,” said the business based in Selby, North Yorkshire. The [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 14, 2010 BARCLAYS BANK Deutsche Bank rates the bank “buy” with a target price of 372p. The researchers see potential for a restructuring programme under new management, or at least a stripping out of undervalued capital. However, the broker has cut its target price from 395p and earnings per share estimates by four to six per cent [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 14, 2010 IG Group IG Group has appointed Christopher Hill as its new chief financial officer from April next year. In his new role he will also be a member of the group’s board, helping to make strategic decisions about the company. To take the job, he will be moving over from his role as CFO of Travelex, [...]
Whitbread in boost from Premier Inns December 14, 2010 WHITBREAD has seen sales rise at its budget Premier Inns and Costa Coffee bars, which will help it stay on target for its full-year forecasts, the company said yesterday. Sales at Premier Inns open for more than a year grew 8.7 per cent in the third quarter to 2 December. Occupancy rose to 80 per [...]
