Earnings double as BNP recovers from Greek woe November 7, 2012 FRENCH banking giant BNP Paribas defied the Eurozone crisis to double earnings in the third quarter, according to financial results published yesterday. The bank reported net profits of €1.32bn (£1.05bn) in the three-month period – up 144 per cent on the €541m recorded in the third quarter of 2012. That is in part a rebound [...]
Munich Re targets €3bn profit as investment income surges November 7, 2012 MUNICH RE yesterday raised its target profit for 2012 to €3bn (£2.4bn), thanks to an absence of large disasters and a strong investment performance. The world’s biggest reinsurer also announced that third quarter consolidated profit was €1.1bn – up from €290m for the same period last year – in part thanks to a 65 per [...]
Burberry chief against female board quotas November 7, 2012 BURBERRY boss Angela Ahrendts yesterday spoke out against imposing quotas for women on boards as the luxury fashion brand reported better-than-expected half year profits. Ahrendts, who has been at the helm of Burberry since 2006, is one of only two women running FTSE 100 firms after Cynthia Carroll announced last month she is to step [...]
Apple shares hit a five-month low as it loses Facetime battle November 7, 2012 SHARES in Apple slumped to a five-month low yesterday after it was ordered to pay $368m (£230m) over a US patent dispute over its Facetime video calling service. Although the fine, paid to Connecticut company VirnetX, is small compared to Apple’s $120bn cash pile, the ruling could affect future use of the technology in Apple’s [...]
Shareholders win battle to oust Quarto founder from the board November 7, 2012 REBEL shareholders yesterday won a drawn-out battle to oust Quarto chairman and chief executive Laurence Orbach from the board of the publishing house, with industry veteran Tim Chadwick to take his place. At the special meeting forced by activist investor Harwood Capital, shareholders voted in favour of removing Orbach, Quarto’s largest shareholder, who founded the [...]
Comet launches clearance sale on stock as shop closures loom November 7, 2012 COMET’S administrator has today begun slashing prices on selected stock across the retailer’s 236 stores, as talks to sell all or parts of the business continue. A spokesperson from Deloitte said it had launched “a gentle” clearance sale today on certain items but said it would not hold a full blown fire sale at this [...]
WANDisco leaps on patent win November 7, 2012 Sheffield software firm WANDisco saw shares rise more than 10 per cent yesterday as it said US officials had approved a request for its technology to be patented. The approval boosts WANDisco’s position in the fast-growing Big Data market. The newly-patented “active:active replication” technology underpins much of WANDisco’s business collaboration software, which is used by [...]
Warner Bros buys London studio November 7, 2012 Soho-based post-production film studio De Lane Lea was yesterday bought by US giant Warner Bros. De Lane Lea, which edits films after they have been shot, employs around 30 people in its studio. The price of the deal was not disclosed, but is likely to be minimal. De Lane Lea’s revenues last year were around [...]
IAG eyes Spanish budget airline November 7, 2012 IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, is eyeing a bid for Vueling Airlines, a budget carrier based in Spain, the firm said in a statement yesterday. IAG’s board will meet today to consider a bid and its possible terms. A subsidiary of IAG already owns 45.85 per cent of Barcelona-based Vueling, which [...]
Johnson orders above inflation fare increases November 7, 2012 MAYOR of London Boris Johnson yesterday unveiled increases to the cost of public transport in the capital for 2013 – amid accusations that the timing of the news was planned to coincide with the US election result. Fares on the Underground, DLR, buses and suburban rail services will rise by an average of 4.2 per [...]
