Hays heralds a return to profit for its UK arm August 29, 2013 RECRUITMENT firm Hays has turned a profit in Britain for the first time in five years, in what chief executive Alistair Cox said reflects a return to growth in most parts of the UK jobs market. “We are on the front foot in terms of growth now, we expect the UK to continue to grow,” [...]
Westfield London plans rent rises as sales continue to grow at malls August 29, 2013 RETAILERS at the Shepherd’s Bush branch of London mall Westfield are facing rent rises, after its owner posted strong sales growth for the first six months of 2013. Sales at Westfield London rose 1.9 per cent in the six months to the end of June, while sales at Westfield Stratford City – its east London cousin [...]
Analyst Views: Is Hays back on the path to growth? August 29, 2013 DAVID O’BRIEN SHORE CAPITAL “We note the strong reduction in net debt, to £105m overall, from £133m at the beginning of the year and further shrinkage anticipated in 2014 by us and management. We are placing our forecasts under review, expecting to increase adjusted pre-tax profit expectations by mid-single digit percentage. JUSTIN JORDAN JEFFERIES “In [...]
UK retail funds bloom as green shoots emerge August 29, 2013 SAVERS took heart from the UK’s early signs of recovery last month to drive retail fund sales to their highest level in over two years, figures out yesterday show. Investors saving for retirement poured an extra £2.2bn into retail funds in July, the highest level since April 2011, with equity market funds leading the charge. [...]
German unemployment ticks up as country prepares for election August 29, 2013 GERMAN unemployment rose slightly in August, up by 7,000 people, the last news on official joblessness before the country’s election in September. There are now 2.94m people unemployed throughout the country, though the rate held steady at 6.8 per cent, one of the lowest levels in the Eurozone. Consumer price inflation was also announced yesterday, [...]
ECB aims to double women in senior management by 2019 August 29, 2013 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) is introducing a new gender quota for management positions, in the hope of getting more women into senior roles. Currently, 14 per cent of senior managers and 17 per cent of middle managers are female, but the ECB hopes to raise these figures to 28 and 35 per cent respectively by [...]
Troika to decide on third Greek bailout after September scrutiny August 29, 2013 EUROPEAN Union economic commissioner Olli Rehn yesterday said that the troika of lenders to Greece will intensify their assessment of the Mediterranean state in September, and decide on any third bailout soon after. Rehn told journalists that the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) needed to “conclude what kind of additional [...]
Blackstone to settle flotation case for $85m August 29, 2013 BLACKSTONE, the co-owner of the city’s Broadgate estate, will pay $85m (£54.8m) to settle a longstanding lawsuit surrounding its 2007 initial public offering, it emerged yesterday. The Wall Street firm, established by legendary dealmaker Steve Schwarzman in the 1980s, will avoid a potentially fraught courtroom showdown scheduled for 16 September after agreeing to settle with [...]
Spanish economy edged toward recession’s end in second quarter August 29, 2013 OFFICIAL statistics on Spain’s economy, released yesterday, suggest that the embattled Mediterranean country nearly exited recession in the second quarter of the year. The government recorded only a 0.1 per cent contraction in GDP between April and June, the shallowest seen by the country since 2011, following the news announced earlier this month that the [...]
Pernod Ricard hit by slowdown in China August 29, 2013 WINES and spirits group Pernod Ricard yesterday fell short of forecasts by posting a four per cent rise in annual net sales to €8.58bn (£5.53bn). The French firm behind Absolut Vodka and Beefeater gin said organic profits rose six per cent to €2.2bn, as weakness in China was offset by other Asian markets. Analysts at [...]
