Investec’s asset income eases profit pressure November 15, 2012 INVESTEC’S profits fell in the first half of the year, with the poor state of the world economy hitting trading, lending and investment incomes, the bank and asset manager’s results showed yesterday. Profits dropped 5.8 per cent, coming in at £168.5m in the six-month period, down from £178.9m in the same period of last year. [...]
3i restructure gathers pace as firm trims overseas office staff November 15, 2012 LISTED alternative investor 3i, which invests in businesses and infrastructure, yesterday said it remained on track to restructure the firm after cutting 104 staff and shifting its focus onto its debt management business. The company, which invests in private equity infrastructure and debt funds, said it wanted to reduce staff numbers by a third by [...]
E&Y gets Farepak audit complaint November 15, 2012 Ernst & Young (E&Y) faces disciplinary action over its audit of the parent company of Farepak, the savings firm that collapsed shortly before Christmas 2006. The Financial Reporting Council said it has filed a disciplinary formal complaint against the big four auditor and one of its former staff for signing off Farepak’s 2005 accounts and [...]
KPN sells German mobile towers November 15, 2012 Dutch telecoms group KPN, stepping up its battle to keep debt under control, yesterday agreed to sell some of its German mobile towers for €393m. The deal with US group American Tower, which will lead to a book gain of €100m, comes on top of a decision in late October to sell its Dutch mobile [...]
P&G outlines further job cuts November 15, 2012 Procter & Gamble (P&G) plans to trim more non-manufacturing jobs through 2016, on top of cutting 10 per cent of that workforce by the end of June, it said yesterday. P&G also said it may increase stock repurchases to $6bn from $4bn, but said such additional buybacks should not have a big impact on earnings [...]
Three says no thanks to 4G as customers rise November 15, 2012 THE UK’S fourth-largest mobile operator, Three, signed up a million extra customers in the last year, putting a dent in its rivals’ numbers. Announcing the figures yesterday, Three outlined a plan to bolster its current network rather than focus on the 4G technology that others are pursuing. This raises the possibility that a January auction [...]
BBC Trust bashes together plan for director general succession November 15, 2012 THE BBC Trust met yesterday to put together a plan to appoint the next director general following George Entwistle’s weekend departure, with the most likely solution appearing to be a direct approach for a former candidate. “They decided that there was a pressing need to make an appointment as soon as possible,” one source close [...]
Euromoney warns of tough trading November 15, 2012 Euromoney Institutional Investor, the financial information and events group owned mainly by Daily Mail & General Trust, yesterday reported a 35 per cent leap in profits in the year to October, and a nine per cent rise in turnover, as it weathered difficult market conditions. However, the company also warned of tougher trading in recent [...]
Citigate blames City for low sales November 15, 2012 Revenues at financial PR firm Citigate have fallen 17 per cent year-on-year, parent company Huntsworth announced yesterday, blaming a downturn in the City. Huntsworth, which also owns PR firms Red and Grayling, said total revenue fell 3.6 per cent. “[Citigate] was held back in London by the continuing lack of activity in the UK financial [...]
Invensys misses forecasts but rises November 15, 2012 Shares in engineering technology company Invensys rose yesterday even as the company missed City forecasts. The company, which saw shares plummet in the summer as it turned down a bid from US firm Emerson Electric, said it was confident of an upturn in orders. Invensys, which builds the technology used in rail signalling systems, said [...]
