Rolls Royce sees profits soar as Airbus A350 takes off July 25, 2013 Rolls Royce has announced pre-tax profits of £840m for the half-year ended 30 June, up £212m the same period last year (release). Excluding Tognum, the German propulsion and energy system specialist (which did not feature in a fully consolidated form in the group's results last year), underlying profit before tax was up by 32 per [...]
BT reports profit and revenues fall in second quarter July 25, 2013 Telecoms company BT has reported a revenues fall of one per cent, down to £4.449bn, for the period from the first quarter to 30 June (release). The biggest revenues fallers were Wholesale (down six per cent) and Global Services and Openreach (both down by two per cent). Profit before tax fell by 16 per cent [...]
Travis Perkins announces new CEO as cold weather sees profits fall July 25, 2013 Builders merchant Travis Perkins has announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer – John Carter – who will replace the incumbent Geoff Cooper on 1 January 2014 (release). Geoff Cooper has been CEO since 2005, and retires as he approaches his 60th birthday next March. Commenting on the succession, non-executive chairman, Robert Walker [...]
Credit Suisse up in pre-market trading as results beat expectations July 25, 2013 Switzerland's Credit Suisse is doing well in pre-market trading – up 0.7 per cent right now – after some better than expected results out this morning (release). The bank posted net income for the second quarter of CHF 1.05bn (£0.73bn), beating forecasts of CHF 1.03bn (£0.72bn). Brady W. Dougan, chief executive officer, said: With an [...]
Amendment to defund US National Security Agency fails narrowly July 25, 2013 (Rep Justin Amash pictured, second from right) Last night saw an amendment proposed to the latest US defence spending bill by representative Justin Amash narrowly defeated. If it had been successful, the amendment would have curbed the ability of the National Security Agency (NSA) to snoop on the communications of Americans. A majority of Democrats [...]
Any Other Business – 25/07 July 25, 2013 Professional bean-counting company PwC has appointed its youngest partner of 2013 this week. Thirty-one-year-old technology whizz Umang Paw (pictured) has been hired to head up the firm’s information governance and e-disclosure business. But Paw tells The Capitalist that a City career didn’t always beckon – his parents wanted him to be a dentist and while [...]
Facebook defies critics as results smash expectations July 24, 2013 FACEBOOK last night dispelled fears that it is struggling to make the transition from desktop to smartphone, as its results smashed expectations thanks to strong demand for mobile advertising. Shares in the social network jumped more than 20 per cent to a year high in after-hours trading as revenue hit $1.8bn (£1.17bn) in the second [...]
It’s Prince George July 24, 2013 THE DUKE and Duchess of Cambridge last night announced that their newborn son will be named George Alexander Louis – to be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge. The last George on the throne was the current Queen’s father, George VI, who was known as Bertie. Prince George will one day become [...]
Struggling Europe shows signs of recovery at last July 24, 2013 A RECOVERY could be in sight for parts of the Eurozone economy, as influential survey data yesterday showed growth in manufacturing output. Figures from Markit also showed growth in the US, but falling output in China as the world’s second largest economy looks increasingly fragile. The Eurozone’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 50.4 [...]
We must urgently improve the quality of our economic growth July 24, 2013 BARRING an astonishing shock, today’s second quarter UK GDP figures will be good. But while economic activity is now clearly increasing again, I’m deeply worried about the quality of the growth and its sustainability when monetary policy is eventually tightened. Ever since the Keynesian revolution, the City and government have been far too obsessed with aggregate, [...]
