Heatwave slows machine sales at Ladbrokes August 8, 2013 LADBROKES said yesterday profits almost halved in the first six months of the year, blaming July’s heatwave as customers shunned gaming machines at its high street outlets. Pre-tax profits at the betting company slumped 48.5 per cent to £55.1m for the six months to 30 June, down from £106.9m in the same period last year. [...]
Bitcoin transfers stopped by money laundering regulations August 8, 2013 MONEY transfer websites have been forced to withdraw support for the fast-growing virtual currency Bitcoin amid uncertainty over money laundering regulations. Leading transfer services, often used to wire traditional currencies to Bitcoin exchanges, told City A.M. they could not continue to operate without revised regulation. “There’s no clear guidance,” said Brett Meyers, managing director of [...]
Blackstone lines up Wall Street banks to float Hilton hotel chain August 8, 2013 WALL Street private equity giant Blackstone is set to float top hotel chain Hilton Worldwide after appointing a roster of banks to prepare a deal. Hilton, which was taken private by Blackstone in a $27bn (£17.4bn) mega leveraged buyout in 2007, has nearly 4,000 properties around the world. The hotel group has appointed Goldman Sachs, [...]
Few opt-out of pensions August 8, 2013 AUTO-ENROLMENT pensions appear to be a success, according to government research released yesterday that shows 90 per cent of employees are choosing to remain within a scheme. Under the systemall workers will be entered into a pension scheme with contributions taken out of their pay unless they opt-out. Currently only firms with more [...]
Enterprise shares shine on sunny update August 8, 2013 SHARES in Enterprise Inns jumped five per cent yesterday after the firm forecast a rise in profits for its final financial quarter. Enterprise said trading in the last five weeks had been boosted by the warm weather. The news came as the pub chain announced that the sale of 356 pubs would help debt to [...]
Rio Tinto scraps aluminium sale as earnings fall August 8, 2013 RIO TINTO’S chief executive yesterday said that China’s economy is unlikely to recover significantly this year but he does not expect “a hard landing”, as falling commodity prices led to a 71 per cent drop in first-half net profits. “China is best described as ‘steady as it goes’,” chief executive Sam Walsh told City [...]
Analyst Views: What is your outlook for Rio Tinto in light of yesterday’s results? August 8, 2013 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO “Results were in line with expectations and highlight that good progress is being made on a number of strategic priorities. Although profits will be impacted if the iron ore price falls as new production comes onstream, we believe the current rating already discounts this to some extent. PETER [...]
Deutsche Tel eyes US growth August 8, 2013 DEUTSCHE Telekom is boosting marketing spend in the US to sustain the pace of its acquisition-driven customer growth. Second-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) excluding special items came in six per cent lower at €4.4bn (£3.8bn). The firm runs T-Mobile US and has a stake in UK network Everything Everywhere (EE).
HR Owen says no to takeover August 8, 2013 LUXURY car dealer HR Owen has again rejected a takeover bid from Berjaya Philippines, which became its biggest shareholder last month. HR Owen execs met with Berjaya for the first time just a day before the conglomerate made its £32.5m bid, taking the firm by surprise. “It’s difficult to know what they plan to do [...]
Stamp firm in online move August 8, 2013 STANLEY Gibbons, the UK’s largest stamp collecting firm, said yesterday that it is investing in the launch of an online trading website for collectibles. CEO Mike Hall told City A.M. that he felt there was a gap in the market to launch an eBay-style site for high-end collectibles. “I’ve always believed that our market needs [...]
