Cash calls up, dividends fall August 11, 2009 UK COMPANIES raised more capital than they paid out in dividends in the first half of 2009, according to research to be published by Capita Registrars today. The Dividend Monitor will show that falling profits have led firms to pay out just £28.3bn in dividends in the period, nine per cent lower than in the first [...]
YEN RECOVERY BAD NEWS FOR JAPAN August 11, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT NO country in the G20 has suffered more from the global recession than Japan. Although relatively low compared to the rest of the industrialised world, the country’s unemployment rate remains at 5.4 per cent, the highest rate of joblessness in more than five years and the second worst in [...]
CIT delays quarterly report August 11, 2009 TROUBLED US bank CIT has delayed filing its second-quarter financial report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and repeated warnings that it may file for bankruptcy. The bank, which lends to thousands of US firms, said it could not meet the deadline for filing with the SEC without “unreasonable effort and expense” due [...]
Vedanta sweetens its bid for copper mining assets August 11, 2009 METALS group Vedanta Resources upped the ante on its bid for the assets of bankrupt US copper miner Asarco yesterday. Vedanta’s subsidiary Sterlite is fighting Grupo Mexico in a court in Texas for the assets. It hiked up its offer to $1.59bn (£957m) cash, from the $1.1bn it originally offered, and cut the value of [...]
Interserve boosted by outsourcing August 11, 2009 SHARES in building maintenance firm Interserve rose yesterday after it reported an 18.7 per cent rise in first-half profit and said economic pressures would further boost public and private sector outsourcing. The firm, which cleans Britain’s crown courts and maintains government buildings, posted a pre-tax profit of £40m, up 18.7 per cent year-on-year, on sales [...]
International Power leading the way for defensive stocks August 11, 2009 THE LARGE cap index shed 1.1 per cent yesterday, knocked by weakness in heavyweight banks, miners, and oils, but defensive stocks were back in favour once again. The FTSE 100 was 50.86 points lower at 4,671.34 by the close of the session, weakening for a second day after hitting a 10-month closing high of 4,731.56 [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 11, 2009 Piper JaffrayThe boutique investment bank has hired Richard Kirkham, formerly a partner at Oriel Securities, as a principal of European equity sales. Kirkham was previously a director of UK small and mid-cap sales at Teather and Greenwood. He will be responsible for developing business relationships with assigned institutional accounts. BarclaycardBarclaycard has appointed David Daniel as [...]
FLAKEY SALES FOR PASTY FIRM August 11, 2009 HIGH street baker Greggs yesterday said wet weather has dampened sales, and reported flat sales in the six weeks to 8 August. Previously, sales were up 1.5 per cent in the half year to 27 June. The sausage roll and pasty maker, which attracts 6m customers a week, said pre-tax profits were up 7.3 per [...]
US shares slide on bank sector fears August 11, 2009 US stocks fell yesterday after a prominent banking analyst warned the sector’s fundamentals have yet to improve, and an unexpectedly large drop in wholesale inventories raised worries about an economic recovery. Financial stocks, which had gained about 25 per cent in the last month, tumbled after Rochdale Securities analyst Richard Bove painted a gloomy outlook [...]
Terry Smith broker gears up for revival August 11, 2009 STOCKBROKER Collins Stewart yesterday signalled tentative signs of recovery as it confirmed a slew of new senior hires, despite posting a 36 per cent plunge in profits for the first half of the year. Collins Stewart, chaired by City veteran Terry Smith, said pre-tax profits fell to £6.1m, down from £9.6m in the first half [...]
