Dentons sees profits climb May 20, 2010 CITY legal outfit Denton Wilde Sapte (Dentons) yesterday posted double-digit partner profit growth and kick started the financial reporting season as the first law firm to reveal yearly results. Profits per equity partner rose 20 per cent rise to £360,000 and comes as good news for Dentons, which saw the same measure fall by almost [...]
Caledonia back in the black May 20, 2010 CALEDONIA Investments swung strongly back into the black over the past year despite underperforming its benchmark, a performance the group said was down to its commitment to conservative, long-term investment plays. Caledonia posted a £312.4m pre-tax profit for the year to March, in comparison to a loss of £325.5m the previous year during the turmoil [...]
Bank of America sells its stake in Itau Unibanco May 20, 2010 SHARES of Itau Unibanco, Brazil’s largest private-sector bank, appeared headed for their biggest one-day drop in almost a year yesterday on concern that a massive offering of its stock owned by Bank of America will pressure prices in the days ahead. Bank of America agreed to sell its 188.42m preferred shares of the Brazilian bank [...]
Toyota recalls four models of its Lexus luxury car over steering complications May 20, 2010 TOYOTA said it plans to recall four models of its Lexus luxury car due to steering problems, its latest move in a series of massive recalls. The recall is likely to cover about 4,500 cars in Japan and 3,800 cars in the United States. The total could reach 11,500 worldwide, Toyota spokeswoman Mieko Iwasaki said [...]
IMF urges Japan to begin cutting debt next year as economy starts to pick up May 19, 2010 JAPAN should start fiscal consolidation next year, including gradually raising the country’s sales tax, taking advantage of solid growth now, the IMF said yesterday. The recommendation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) contradicts Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s pledge not to raise the sales tax rate at least until the next lower house election, which does [...]
Honeywell to snap up France’s Sperian in $1.1bn cash offer May 19, 2010 US MANUFACTURER Honeywell has secured a deal to buy French personal protection equipment maker Sperian Protection $1.1bn (£763m) in cash, the firm said yesterday. Honeywell’s €117-per-share offer for the maker of face masks and other protective equipment topped a prior bid by French holding company Menelas, owned by Cinven Investment Fund, which in March offered [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 19, 2010 YELL JP Morgan Cazenove retains its “neutral” rating on Yell following its surprise announcement that both its CEO and CFO will leave the company in the next year. JP Morgan said the company is also guiding to a revenue decline but given £60m cost savings, JP Morgan believes that the revenue decline should be cushioned. [...]
Canvas gets the all clear from the OFT May 19, 2010 THE Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will not investigate Project Canvas, a tie-up between large media players, over fears it will stifle competition. The proposed joint venture by firms including BBC, BT, TalkTalk and ITV will offer video-on-demand content through a viewer’s Freeview box. The scheme has come under fire from rivals Sky and Virgin [...]
Air France sees biggest loss in over a decade May 19, 2010 AIR FRANCE-KLM posted its largest loss in 15 years after the airline yesterday reported a full-year net loss of €1.56bn (£1.33bn). Chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon dubbed the year “annus horribilis” after the airline suffered a number of set backs, including the Brazil crash last June which resulted in the death of 228 passengers, the disruptions [...]
Exxon, BP, ENI and BG seek Indian oil May 19, 2010 STATE-RUN Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) yesterday asked foreign firms including Exxon Mobil and BP to submit proposals to buy a stake in an east coast block shunned by Brazil’s Petrobras. UK gas major BG Group and Italy’s ENI have also shown interest in taking stakes in the deepwater block, D.K. Pande, head of [...]
