ANALYST VIEWS: CAN THOMAS COOK TURN THINGS AROUND? July 12, 2011 SIMON FRENCH | PANMURE GORDON Recent weakness in the share price had suggested all was not well at Thomas Cook and we do believe there are some company specific issues particularly in the UK business. We cut our target and say ‘hold’. KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN In all, whilst management initiatives and a much [...]
Yell surges on ad deal with Microsoft July 12, 2011 YELL shares surged yesterday after the Yellow Pages publisher announced a tie-up with Microsoft to boost the exposure of its online and mobile advertising. The group’s shares, which have fallen by around half of their value since the beginning of the year gained more than 15 per cent during trading yesterday. The embattled firm, which [...]
Phosagro is latest group to get float off the ground July 12, 2011 THE Russian fertiliser group Phosagro has narrowed the range for its planned London initial public offering (IPO) and is on track to float today with a market capitalisation of around $5bn (£3.14bn). The company, whose shares are scheduled to begin trading on the London stock exchange today, narrowed the price range for shares to $13.75-$15.75 [...]
Perform in line with expectations July 12, 2011 Sports rights distribution group Perform yesterday said its first half trading is in line with its expectations. A statement from the firm said it has seen growth across all business areas, adding: “Overall, Perform remains on track to deliver strong full-year growth in line with management expectations.”
Luminar in profit warning July 12, 2011 Nightclub operator Luminar yesterday issued a profit warning after it reported another drop in sales as it failed to pull in young revellers. The Milton Keynes-based company announced a 12 per cent reduction in like-for-like sales for the 18 weeks up to 2 July , worse than expected. Sales fell by 9.7 per cent.
ABB calls for betting changes July 12, 2011 The Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) yesterday called for the government to abolish the 50-year-old Horserace Betting Levy by 2014 and replace it with a commercially negotiated arrangement. The body says the success of the process would depend on the government “facilitating” it through measures such as continuing betting’s exemption from VAT.
Carrefour’s Brazil deal in peril July 12, 2011 Shares in French supermarket giant Carrefour fell yesterday after its bid to get a foothold in the Brazilian retail market was thrown into doubt. Brazil’s government has withdrawn its financial and political support for a controversial tie-up between retailer Pao de Acucar and the local unit of Carrefour. The rejection sent Carrefour shares down by [...]
Greencore to buy rival Uniq in £113m deal July 12, 2011 GREENCORE has made a £113m offer for rival food company Uniq as it paves the way for a delisting in Ireland ahead of joining the London market. The Dublin-based company, which is one of Britain’s biggest providers of ready meals, said its 96p per share offer has received the backing of Uniq’s board, which put [...]
Production at Premier Oil hit by maintenance July 12, 2011 BRITISH oil explorer Premier Oil reported a disappointing downturn in first-half production as increased maintenance activity in the UK offset a good performance from its Asian fields. The FTSE 250-listed firm said its average production for the first half of the year fell 21 per cent from 42.8 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (kboepd) in [...]
Disaster losses hit new record July 12, 2011 DISASTERS this year have already caused the worst economic losses on record, Munich Re said yesterday. Catastrophes in Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the US led to $265bn (£166bn) of losses in the first six months of the year alone – far above the previous record of $220bn in 2005. The devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake [...]
