Acquisitions help Co-op to boost profits March 18, 2010 THE Co-operative group is to pay a bumper dividend after its profits jumped 85 per cent in 2009. Buying Somerfield helped the Co-op record a £402m profit while revenues surged by almost a third. Dividends totalling £55m will be dished out to its members as a result of the profits hike. The group merged its [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 18, 2010 Avoca Capital Holdings The European credit investment manager has hired Clayton Perry, formerly principal and managing director at Broadchalk Advisors, as its new chief operating officer. Prior to establishing Broadchalk, Perry was head of global collateralised loan obligation (CLO) business at Credit Suisse, responsible for CLO transactions in the US and Europe. The appointment comes [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 18, 2010 AUTONOMY Credit Suisse reiterates Autonomy’s “outperform” rating after raising its target price from £20 to £22. Credit Suisse has raised its 2010 revenue and earnings per share estimates as its analysis of underlying original equipment manufacturing vendors indicates an acceleration in license growth in the next 12 months. BMW Standard & Poors (S&P) reiterates its [...]
Breakfast helps fuel Greggs’ expansion March 18, 2010 BRITISH bakery chain Greggs has beat forecasts to post £48.8m in 2009 pre-tax profits. The company’s profits were up eight per cent on the £45.2m it made in 2008 and despite the downturn, total sales increased 4.8 per cent to £658m, with like-for-like sales up 0.8 per cent. The chain, known for its iced buns [...]
JP Morgan loses court case March 18, 2010 JPMORGAN has lost a court dispute over fees relating to a client’s A$1.3bn (£787m) Australian takeover defence in an unusual case that sheds light on the often opaque world of investment banking fees. An Australian court dismissed the US bank’s claim for A$50.8m in fees from Consolidated Minerals which was taken over by Ukrainian billionaire [...]
FedEx ups 2010 forecasts as Asia boosts exports March 18, 2010 PACKAGE delivery giant FedEx raised its outlook and posted sharply higher profit yesterday, but its shares fell as its domestic volume numbers disappointed investors’ hopes for a US economic recovery. Profit for its fiscal third quarter ended 28 February was $239m, or 76 cents per share, up from $97m, or 31 cents per share, a [...]
FTSE closes flat as miners and banks fall, while pharmaceuticals gather pace March 18, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares ended flat yesterday as banks and miners paused for breath after recent gains, offsetting a rally in drugmakers and energy stocks. The FTSE 100 finished almost unchanged at 5,642.62, having closed at a 21-month closing peak on Wednesday. Banks and miners slipped after recent strong gains, with Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland [...]
Dow Jones gets a boost as Boeing shares take off March 18, 2010 THE DOW industrials rose for an eighth consecutive session yesterday, lifted by a rise in Boeing’s stock, while a mixed group of economic figures kept the broader Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 in check. Boeing, up 2.2 per cent at $70.87, gave the Dow its biggest boost. Boeing is the Dow’s best-performing stock so far [...]
A big success in any language March 18, 2010 OF all the things you might expect to see in a language-teaching classroom, a piano is perhaps not high on the list. But that’s one of the most noticeable objects in Yalan Chuang’s office in King’s Cross, where she teaches businesspeople Chinese. “It is a very musical language, some words are spoken like a soprano [...]
Incubators helping new firms to grow March 18, 2010 BONUS cuts, the recession and upcoming tax hikes for high-earners are tempting more and more City folk to start their own businesses. Indeed, Sturgeon Ventures, an “incubator” firm which specialises in helping people to establish their own businesses in the financial services sector, has seen a 10-fold increase in the number of enquiries from City [...]
