BoI to avoid state control July 25, 2011 THE Bank of Ireland will become Ireland’s only lender to avoid majority state control after the government announced yesterday that private investors have agreed to buy a stake worth €1.1bn (£971m) in the beleagured bank. The news saw investors make a grab for shares in the country’s biggest lender, whose stock closed up three per [...]
Allied Irish back in black despite €5bn fall in deposits July 25, 2011 ALLIED Irish Banks jumped out of the red yesterday, reporting a pre-tax profit of €260m (£229.6m) for the half-year ended June versus a €2.44bn loss for the same period last year. The bank still posted an underlying loss of €2.6bn due to “continuing elevated bad debts”. Impairments rose from €12.1bn to €15.2bn. And the bank revealed that [...]
RBS Aviation blocks its former boss from £5bn auction process July 25, 2011 ROYAL Bank of Scotland has excluded the former boss of its aircraft leasing business from the $8bn (£5bn) auction of the unit, raising concerns the part-nationalised bank is barring a credible bidder and could short-change the UK taxpayer. Source said Dublin-based aircraft leasing firm Avalon, which is run by Domhnal Slattery, the founder and former [...]
Domino’s to treble spend on marketing July 25, 2011 DOMINO’S Pizza yesterday forecast stronger sales growth in the second half of the year after reporting a 15 per cent rise in first-half profit. The company, which runs the British and Irish franchises of the global delivery brand, is planning to treble marketing spend in the second half compared with the same period last year, [...]
Netflix disappoints investors July 25, 2011 NETFLIX, the top US video rental company, reported second-quarter revenue that fell short of expectations and saw shares drop with a caution that subscriber growth would slow in the third quarter. The company said quarterly earnings rose to $68m (£41.8m), or $1.26 a share, from $38m, or 70 cents a share, in the same period [...]
Dixons wins deal with Harrods July 25, 2011 STRUGGLING electricals retailer Dixons – which has been trying to find a way to offset falling sales – has signed up to run the consumer electronics section at Harrods. The unlikely partnership comes after a spat in which Dixons directly tried to steal customers from Harrods by encouraging people to browse at the upmarket store [...]
Texas Instruments expects economy to stunt growth July 25, 2011 TEXAS Instruments has forecast only modest third quarter growth in the face of economic uncertainty. The company, whose chips are found in products ranging from mobile phones to cars, said it expects third-quarter revenue of $3.4bn (£2.1bn) to $3.7bn, compared with the average analyst forecast of $3.6bn. For the second quarter Texas Instruments earned $672m, [...]
CITY GRANDEES DEBATE FUTURE OF UK BANKING July 25, 2011 MAGIC circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Fleet Street offices played host last night to a City crowd debating one of the most pertinent questions currently facing the UK’s politicians, regulators and bankers – whether the country’s biggest banks should be forcibly broken up, or whether other kinds of reforms are the best way forward. [...]
Reckitt lifted by emerging market boost July 25, 2011 EMERGING market growth offset weaker European sales to allow consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser to hike its interim dividend by ten per cent yesterday. Total like-for-like sales at the group, which makes Cillit Bang cleaners, Airwick air fresheners and Dettol disinfectant, rose by five per cent in the first half. However, European sales dropped one [...]
Ryanair sees profit dented by the soaring price of fuel July 25, 2011 RYANAIR, Europe’s largest low-cost airline, posted quarterly profits below market expectations due to higher fuel and operating costs yesterday. The Irish airline, which operates more than 1,500 flights a day, said it expects average income yields to rise by 12 to 15 per cent in its second quarter ending in September, but warned that traffic [...]
