Lords told big four auditors pose systemic risk to British economy November 2, 2010 THE dominance of the “big four” auditing firms poses a systemic risk, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee was told yesterday. Managing partner of auditor BDO Simon Michaels said: “If one of the big four were to exit the market, without a plan B, there could be chaos.” The lords were asking about the [...]
FTSE lifted more than one per cent on the back of strong corporate earnings November 2, 2010 STRONG corporate earnings hoisted Britain’s top shares by more than one per cent on yesterday, led by energy stocks after BP and BG Group results and ahead of the outcome of the eagerly awaited US Federal Reserve policy meeting. At the two-day meet in Washington which started yesterday, the Fed will consider the prospect of [...]
Pfizer’s sales lag rivals as generics bite November 2, 2010 DRUGS giant Pfizer yesterday reported disappointing sales, hurt by generic competition for its Lipitor cholesterol fighter and Effexor XR depression drug as well as weak revenue in emerging markets. The last of the large US drugmakers to report third-quarter earnings, Pfizer followed the example of most rivals with higher-than-expected profits – largely from cost cuts [...]
Strong US sales and Ratiopharm drug boost Israeli generic drugs maker Teva November 2, 2010 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world’s biggest maker of generic drugs, posted higher quarterly net profit that beat expectations, boosted by strong US sales and its acquisition of Germany’s Ratiopharm. Third quarter sales in North America rose 22 per cent to $2.72bn while generic sales in the US jumped 34 per cent to $1.63bn, Israel-based Teva [...]
APPLE DOMINATES TABLET MARKET November 2, 2010 APPLE dominated the global market for tablets in the third quarter amid limited competition for its iPad device. Almost 95 per cent of all tablet computer shipments in the quarter were of Apple’s iPad tablet, according to a study by Strategy Analytics. The research firm said the tablet computer shipments rose 26 per cent from [...]
US stocks up as elections and a Fed decision loom November 2, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday on the expectation the midterm election and a Federal Reserve decision would create a more business-friendly environment, though many traders forecast a selloff in the days ahead. The S&P 500 index has risen almost 14 per cent since September on speculation of Republican congressional gains and measures by the Federal Reserve [...]
Job loss doom and gloom will help nobody November 2, 2010 YESTERDAY, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) warned the government’s austerity measures would cause 1.6m job losses, adding to the doom and gloom that surrounds the spending review. But their analysis ignores key facts. The Lamont-Clarke fiscal squeeze in the 1990s resulted in 600,000 public sector job losses, but this did not prevent [...]
New business boost for St James’s Place November 2, 2010 WEALTH manager St James’s Place announced healthy growth in the three months ending 30 September, with new business of £136.5m, up 30 per cent, on an annual premium equivalent (APE) basis. Total single investments were also up to £1.1bn from £0.8bn, an increase of 32 per cent on the same time last year. St James’s [...]
SAV Credit and Blackstone team prepare to up offer for Egg bank November 2, 2010 SAV Credit, the owner of the Marbles and Aqua credit card businesses, has teamed up with private equity group Blackstone to prepare an offer for internet bank Egg. SAV and Blackstone are expected to make a joint offer to current owner Citigroup later this month, according to a report by Sky News. Citi’s auction to [...]
Asset managers still not ready for EU directive November 2, 2010 THE UK’s asset management industry is still not ready for the introduction of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) a poll from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed yesterday. The poll suggests only two per cent of asset managers have a plan in place for responding to the AIFMD despite 41 per cent of them believing management [...]
