C&WW sees its cashflow go into black May 24, 2011 CABLE & Wireless Worldwide (C&WW) yesterday released a workmanlike set of results that reassured investors who had been spooked by a torrid few months. The firm slashed costs to push pre-tax profit up 23 per cent to £143m on slightly lower revenues of £2.3bn. Shares in the firm, which concentrates on the global corporate market [...]
Endemol star to take over Mecom May 24, 2011 RISING Endemol star Tom Toumazis will become the new chief executive of European publisher Mecom when Stephen Davidson, currently executive chairman, steps aside in August. Toumazis (pictured) has worked in the media industry since 1983 and has held senior international and UK positions in print, online, TV and radio. He served as chief commercial officer [...]
Sarko urges web cooperation May 24, 2011 NICOLAS Sarkozy urged internet leaders gathered in Paris for the e-G8 talks to work with governments and share fairly the benefits of a revolution he compared to the discoveries of Columbus, Galileo and Newton. Opening a forum at which Google’s Eric Schmidt and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg will be among the speakers, Sarkozy heaped praise on [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO THE RESULTS MEAN FOR INVESTORS? May 24, 2011 MORTEN SINGLETON | INVESTEC Results headlines look absolutely fine. The headlines all came in at or above consensus expectations. The full-year dividend has been held at 4.5p despite some anticipation in the market of a possible cut. There are no major catalysts here, but no disasters either. KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN Overall there wasn’t [...]
Germany still on track with high morale May 24, 2011 GERMAN business confidence has defied expectations by holding strong this month, despite drops in French and Belgian morale and tumbling industrial orders across the Eurozone. Sentiment in the business climate stuck at 114.2 in May, according to the highly regarded survey from Munich-based think tank Ifo. And the index measuring the current business situation climbed [...]
UK’s retail sales hold steady May 24, 2011 ACTIVITY on the UK high street is “subdued, but steady,” according to the latest research by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Retail sales are “holding up about as well as can be expected,” the CBI said yesterday, after announcing that sales have remained surprisingly resilient this month. A positive balance of 18 per cent [...]
Dagong slashes UK credit rating over new debt fear May 24, 2011 THE UK’s credit rating was downgraded yesterday, by Chinese rating agency Dagong. China’s first domestic credit rating group cut the UK’s rating by one level to A+, from AA-, and placed it on a negative outlook. The agency cited a reduction in the UK’s capability to repay debts coinciding with extremely disappointing deficit figures. The [...]
BANK’S FISHER IN NO HURRY TO RAISE RATES May 24, 2011 BANK of England rate-setter Paul Fisher showed a dovish outlook yesterday during a speech on the UK’s economic outlook. Downside risks to growth have prompted Fisher to “pause to consider when policy should start to be normalised or even whether further loosening might be justified,” he said, insisting that rate hikes were not urgently needed.
Investment to London keeps up May 24, 2011 London attracted more foreign direct investment in 2010 than every European country apart from France, Germany and Russia, a report from Ernst and Young revealed today. The UK as a whole continues to attract the highest level of investment in Europe, up seven per cent in 2010 from the previous year. While almost half (46 [...]
Private equity exits at fresh high May 24, 2011 Private equity firms have been cashing in on their investment at a record level, analysts Preqin revealed yesterday. Preqin announced 201 private equity-backed exits already in the second-quarter of this year, valued at $85bn (£52.5bn). This is already five per cent higher than the final quarter of 2010, according to the report. European exit value [...]
