Higher costs set to crimp FedEx profits next year June 16, 2010 FEDEX reported a quarterly profit yesterday that beat analyst expectations, but said costs would constrain its 2011 earnings. The company projected 2011 earnings per share in the range of $4.40 (£2.97) to $5.00. “We expect the growth in earnings in fiscal 2011 to be constrained,” chief financial officer Alan Graf Jr said, citing increases in [...]
Swiss Parliament delays UBS tax deal June 16, 2010 A SWISS-US tax deal crucial to the future of UBS hung in the balance as the lower house of parliament voted again yesterday for a referendum, delaying a final decision until today. A special panel is set to iron out differences between the upper and lower houses this morning before they take final votes later [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 16, 2010 TESCO ING reiterates a “buy” recommendation on Tesco and said this was a fairly lacklustre first trading update, although the market shouldn’t be hugely surprised. ING noted Tesco’s chief executive Terry Leahy expects the first quarter to be a low point for the year and he continues to talk about “recovering global consumer markets.” CARPHONE [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 16, 2010 Capital & Regional The property asset management firm has appointed John Clare, the former chief executive of Dixons Group, as its new chairman, effective from the end of June. Clare is currently the chairman of JJB Sports and bed retailer Dreams. He held the top job at Dixons 14 years between 1993 and 2007, and [...]
Australian PM stands firm on mining tax June 16, 2010 MINING giants Rio Tinto, Xstrata and BHP Billiton met with the Australian government yesterday to discuss a proposed mining super-tax, but complained that their concerns “had not been addressed”. The battle over the 40 per cent “resource super profits tax” showed little sign of resolution following the meeting, as the government held firm on introducing [...]
Greece’s OTE gets loan approval June 16, 2010 OTE, Greece’s biggest telecoms company, got shareholder approval to seek loans from its parent company Deutsche Telekom as part of efforts to reduce borrowing costs. Shareholders yesterday granted management the right to conclude debt agreements with Deutsche Telekom under financial terms and conditions equal to or better than those offered by a third party, OTE’s [...]
United, Continental merger probed June 16, 2010 US lawmakers yesterday sought assurances on safety, pensions and job security from executives of United Airlines and Continental Airlines ahead of their merger to create the world’s biggest carrier. United Airlines Glenn Tilton and his counterpart at Continental Airlines, Jeff Smisek, received a frosty reception from the House of Representatives aviation subcommittee, and faced the [...]
BP ON THE BRINK AS US CLOSES IN June 15, 2010 US PRESIDENT Barack Obama ordered BP last night to relinquish its control over the Gulf of Mexico claims response in his first address to the nation from the Oval Office. The President reassured the American public during the televised speech that the government was in control of the crisis that has already caused severe financial [...]
Hammond: We’ll build Crossrail June 15, 2010 TRANSPORT secretary Philip Hammond yesterday said the government would deliver the Crossrail project in its entirety. There had been concerns the coalition would scrap some stations as it grapples with a massive budget deficit. But speaking in an exclusive interview with City A.M., Hammond said he had no plans to reduce the scope of the [...]
E&Y is probed over Lehmans June 15, 2010 A FULL-blown investigation into the conduct of Ernst & Young (E&Y) as auditors to fallen bank Lehman Brothers has been launched by the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board (AADB). The independent body, which sits under the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), said that it has started investigating the conduct of E&Y in “the preparation and audits [...]
