Siemens picks Kaeser as new chief July 31, 2013 German engineering group Siemens yesterday named finance chief Joe Kaeser as its new boss after dumping chief executive Peter Loescher four years before the end of his contract, following a second profit warning this year. Kaeser, 56, will start tomorrow in his new task of turning around Germany’s second-biggest company by market value and a [...]
Great Portland makes £61m sale July 31, 2013 Great Portland Estates (GPE) has sold 90 Queen Street on the corner of Cheapside in the City for £61m. The west end-focused developer said yesterday that it has exchanged contracts to sell the office building to a vehicle owned by German fund manager Warburg-Henderson. The 68,438 square feet property is mainly let to the Brazilian [...]
Topshop gets shirty over loss of Rihanna case July 31, 2013 POPSTAR Rihanna yesterday came out tops in her High Court legal battle against Arcadia – the owner of high street retailer Topshop. The case was brought by RiRi – who used her real name Robyn Rihanna Fenty – because of an image of the star that Topshop used on its Rihanna tank t-shirt, which was [...]
Pop-up yoga on City rooftop July 31, 2013 LOCAL frequenters of Square Mile watering holes will already be familiar with Madison, the rooftop bar at the One New Change shopping centre. However, most City boozers were unlikely to be found there after a hard day’s work, doing the downward dog – until very recently. The Capitalist hears that City fitties are now working out [...]
Hugo Boss sales rise outside China July 31, 2013 German fashion house Hugo Boss joined luxury rivals in reporting a rise in second-quarter sales as shoppers in the United States and Japan helped to offset what it termed a “still challenging” market in mainland China. Hugo Boss reported second-quarter sales up 11 per cent on a currency-adjusted basis to €532m (£464m) and underlying earnings [...]
Segro posts flat property values July 31, 2013 Industrial landlord Segro yesterday said its net asset value per share was flat at 294p in the first half of 2013 as the company continues to reshape its property portfolio to battle weak economic data in Europe. Segro has completed £437m worth of disposals so far this year and invested £126m in development projects, it [...]
Dignity sees big rise in funerals July 31, 2013 A surprise six per cent jump in the number of deaths gave Britain’s only listed funeral company better than expected first-half profits yesterday. Dignity carries out one in every eight funerals and owns one in 10 crematoria. The firm expects rates to return to normal before the end of the year, but was able to [...]
Peugeot works on turnaround July 31, 2013 PSA Peugeot Citroen impressed investors by improving its 2013 cash flow goal yesterday, saying spending cuts and an alliance with General Motors had already begun to pay off. The struggling French carmaker now aims to reduce closely watched cash consumption before restructuring costs “at least by half” from last year’s €3bn (£2.6bn) – potentially undercutting [...]
Bayer says trading is tough July 31, 2013 Bayer, Germany’s largest drug company, said its full-year profit outlook had become more challenging as difficult plastics and chemicals markets temper sales growth from new pharmaceuticals. Second-quarter adjusted earnings rose to €2.2bn (£1.9bn), broadly in line with analyst forecasts.
Nintendo’s Wii U sales fall short July 31, 2013 Nintendo has kept its Wii U game machine sales forecast for the year through March 2014 unchanged at 9m consoles, although sales during the April to June first quarter were a modest 160,000 machines. Nintendo, which began by making playing cards in the late 19th century, is counting on the new Wii U to revive [...]
