Microsoft hit by EU warning October 24, 2012 MICROSOFT will have to answer a charge of breaking EU competition law for not providing a choice of internet browsers on its software. EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia sent a statement of objections to the US technology firm yesterday. “Microsoft has failed to comply with its commitments,” Almunia said. The firm has a month to [...]
Lower trading hits Nasdaq October 24, 2012 A SLOWDOWN in trading of US technology stocks pulled Nasdaq profits down in the last three months. The company, which owns and operates the Nasdaq stock exchange as well as a number of Nordic and Baltic markets, said volatility had decreased in the last year. Nasdaq’s profit fell to $89m (£55.6m) in the quarter, while [...]
Falling tobacco sales burn out BAT price hikes October 24, 2012 PRICE rises from British American Tobacco (BAT) have failed to stem the effects of falling cigarette sales this year, as the FTSE 100 firm saw turnover fall in the last nine months. The company, which makes the Lucky Strike, Dunhill, Kent and Pall Mall brands, said tax hikes in Brazil and currency fluctuations were to [...]
Emerging markets success offsets Heineken’s European struggles October 24, 2012 HEINEKEN, the world’s third-largest brewer, reported stronger than expected third-quarter group revenue yesterday, boosted by US and emerging market strength and price hikes, but investors focused on weakness in Europe. Europe’s largest brewer, whose Heineken brand is the continent’s number-one selling beer, said the main causes were a double-digit percentage decline in Portugal, which entered [...]
Restructuring costs hammer Puma‘s results October 24, 2012 PUMA yesterday posted an 85 per cent plunge in third quarter profits to €12.2m (£9.9m), hit by weak European markets, slowing growth in Asia, and the cost of a revamp aimed at boosting future profits. Sales rose six per cent, missing forecasts.
Nintendo trims profit forecast October 24, 2012 NINTENDO trimmed its annual profit outlook by almost 50 per cent yesterday as a strong yen and diminished console sales weighed on earnings while it readies the launch of the successor to the hit Wii console, which it hopes will reboot earnings growth. Its operating loss for the three months to October edged down to [...]
Smartphone sales boost LG October 24, 2012 LG shipped a record number of smartphones in the third quarter, fuelling confidence it may have a future in the lucrative market as its peers are fading fast. The South Korean firm and rivals such as Nokia and HTC have struggled with losses or razor-thin profits in recent years as consumers have swarmed to the [...]
Punch Taverns warns that it is in talks for debt restructuring October 24, 2012 TROUBLED pub chain Punch Taverns yesterday warned that it would have to restructure its massive debt as the company said sales at its 3,000 pubs had declined by six per cent in the last year. Although Punch Taverns remains profitable, it is saddled with £2.4bn of debt, and has seen pre-tax profit decline to £64m [...]
What did you make of punch taverns’ performance? October 24, 2012 SIMON FRENCH | PANMURE GORDON With Ebitda below our expectations and debt higher than we forecast, our confidence in a positive outcome for shareholders continues to diminish. As such we reduce our target price to 7p, reflecting the group’s balance sheet value of its investment in Matthew Clark of £44.5m. Hold. JAMES MARTIN | BARCLAYS [...]
Penmanship a coveted skill at one law firm October 24, 2012 SILVERMAN Sherliker founding partner Chris Sherliker is one of the most followed legal eagles on Twitter, clocking up an impressive 16,048 followers on his Twitter page and even managing to knock out the odd smiley face in a recent tweet that The Capitalist spotted. So one would think that Sherliker would be keen to pioneer [...]
