CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 27, 2010 Aviva The insurance giant said yesterday Patrick Regan, its incoming chief financial officer and executive director, will step up to his new role on 22 February. Regan was previously group chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Willis Group, and has also held finance roles in the past at the likes of RSA and [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 27, 2010 SABMILLER Only 90p of SABMiller’s 185p slide to £16.55 since 11 January can be explained by its failure to acquire Mexican company FEMSA Cerveza, says Evolution Securities. The broker thinks the rest is due to poor sentiment and fears over beer VAT hikes in Colombia rather than fundamentals, and reiterates “buy” with a target of [...]
Britvic says growth to slow on cold snap January 27, 2010 SOFT drinks company Britvic yesterday reported an 11 per cent rise in first-quarter revenues but expects to see slower second-quarter growth due to tougher comparisons and recent bad weather. The producer and licensed bottler of brands including Robinsons, Tango, J2O, Pepsi and 7Up, on Tuesday posted first-quarter sales of £243m for the 12 weeks to [...]
Heavyweights beef up Cowdery buyout vehicle Resolution January 27, 2010 RESOLUTION, the buyout vehicle founded by entrepreneur Clive Cowdery, has taken on former Swiss Re chief Jacques Aigrain, ex-Aviva Spain boss Gerardo Arostegui and Mel Carvill, founder of private equity firm PPF Partners, as independent directors. Aigrain left Swiss Re last year after holding the position of chief executive since 2006. Prior to joining the [...]
Software firm SAP sees higher 2010 sales and profits amid tough market January 27, 2010 GERMAN software maker SAP yesterday said it expects to increase core sales and operating margins in 2010 but cautioned that market conditions are still tough because companies remain wary about investing. “What we see is that the markets are still cautious … but what we see in 2010 is it’s going to be a very [...]
Praise for German minister January 27, 2010 Germany’s economy minister yesterday said Axel Weber was doing an excellent job as Bundesbank president but declined to comment on whether he should succeed European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet. A German government spokesman said last week the government had not yet made a decision on who it would like to succeed Trichet as ECB [...]
United losses in fourth quarter January 27, 2010 United Airlines parent UAL posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss as it cut costs to cope with falling demand and said revenue continued to improve. The carrier yesterday said its fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to $240m (£148m), or $1.44 per share, from $1.32bn, or $10 per share, a year earlier.
West End’s strong performance January 27, 2010 London’s West End theatres enjoyed a record year in 2009, shaking off the recession and earning more than £500m for the first time, figures showed yesterday. Attendances reached 14.3m last year, a rise of 5.5 per cent on 2008, and overall box office revenue for central London’s theatreland was £505m, a 7.6 per cent increase.
Moral hazard meets Greek tragedy for EU January 27, 2010 MOORAD CHOUDHRY HEAD OF TREASURY, EUROPE ARAB BANK THE public sector deficit issue in Greece appears to be heading for a dénouement with the market getting jittery about Greek government bonds and wondering whether the country will default, or even withdraw from the Eurozone. A sovereign default is a serious issue at the best of [...]
Only the severest policy can restore confidence January 27, 2010 IN ALL the furore surrounding Greece, it has been easy to forget about the other Eurozone members struggling to stay afloat. Portugal, Spain and Ireland have all been suffering from ballooning deficits and rapidly rising unemployment, to the extent that all three have experienced government debt downgrades by at least one ratings agency. But while [...]
