Home Retail Group boosted by kitchens September 10, 2009 HOMEBASE and Argos owner Home Retail Group said yesterday it would match the previous year’s interim underlying profits, as sales of televisions and kitchens held up through the slump. Benchmark profit before tax will be “broadly in line” with last year’s £121m, it said. The group said customers were staying at home in the recession, [...]
Poor sales in Europe drag Kesa down September 10, 2009 KESA, the group which owns Comet, said yesterday its first quarter sales had slumped 3.9 per cent year on year, as the downturn in Europe outweighed a slight UK recovery. Sales at Comet went up 0.3 per cent, compared to the same period last year, but the company’s French unit Darty saw sales drop by [...]
Genus sees sperm demand grow September 10, 2009 Genus, the group which specialises in bull and pig breeding, is predicting an increase in demand for its sperm, as the agricultural industry comes out of recession. “The steep downturn was exacerbated by extremely high animal feed prices and we believe the upturn could be equally steep,” chief executive Richard Wood said.
IEA:Opec decision is sensible September 10, 2009 Opec’s decision to hold oil output targets steady is a sensible decision in the light of the economy, which remains fragile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday. As widely expected, at a meeting ending early yesterday, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) saw no need to change production formally, although some OPEC [...]
Neuro eyes Eastern Europe September 10, 2009 NASDAQ OMX Europe (Neuro) has announced that it plans to offer trading in blue chip securities listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange, Warsaw Stock Exchange and Prague Stock Exchange, with clearing house EMCF providing central counterparty (CCP) clearing services for the new markets. This expansion into Eastern Europe is expected to take place in Q1 [...]
HOW WOULD YOU RATE WM MORRISON’S PERFORMANCE? September 10, 2009 NICK BUBB PALI INTERNATIONALThe results were in-line with expectations, but that shouldn’t take anything away from what was a very good performance. Dare I say it, it was better than Sainsbury’s. The stores they bought from the Co-operative Group opened earlier than expected, and that bodes well for the longer-term push into smaller stores. SAM [...]
Profit up 45pc at Morrison as sales boom September 10, 2009 WM MORRISON, the smallest “big four” supermarket, reported another stellar rise in like-for-like sales yesterday, helping it to book a 45 per cent pre-tax profit rise to £449m in the first half. Morrisons, which has staged an industry-beating sales boom in the recession, said profits were in-line with expectations and that 19 stores it bought [...]
P&G plans to cut prices in bid for growth September 10, 2009 CONSUMER goods giant Procter & Gamble said yesterday that it plans to cut prices and increase promotions, and that it expects to return to organic sales growth by the end of the year. P&G shares rose after its chief financial officer Jon Moeller said the company expects organic sales to rise one per cent to [...]
Spike in share sales triggers market fears September 10, 2009 A FLOOD of share sales in the US coupled with the busiest week for initial public offerings (IPOs) in almost two years could mean that the recent market rally is nearing the end. September is on pace to be the busiest month for secondary issuance since May, which some portfolio managers see as a sign [...]
Wall Street boosted by a bright outlook September 10, 2009 US stocks gained for a fifth straight session yesterday, their longest string of gains since November, as a bright outlook from consumer product company Procter & Gamble and a successful Treasury bond auction boosted investors’ confidence. Strong demand for the sale of 30-year Treasury bonds lifted confidence in US assets, including stocks. The S&P 500 [...]
