ANALYST VIEWS: IS PUBLISHER YELL GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ? February 4, 2010 SAM HART| CHARLES STANLEY Although the company is being upbeat, the outlook is not good for Yell. The company has major structural issues and the move from print to online operations is a headache. Shares did rise after the statement but sales are down in the UK and elsewhere – there are more problems ahead. [...]
Insurer Aviva is hit by poor life revenues February 4, 2010 Insurer Aviva yesterday reported weaker 2009 life sales, held back by tough economic conditions in the UK, and said its general insurance arm had been hit by hefty bad weather claims in the final quarter. Aviva had total 2009 life and pensions sales of £32bn, down 12 per cent from £36.24bn the previous year, the [...]
Liontrust slides on outflows February 4, 2010 LIONTRUST Asset Management yesterday announced it suffered £131m net outflows in the fourth quarter as it prepares to launch a range of new products and streamline its business. The investment house’s shares fell 0.9 per cent to 115p after it revealed assets under management dropped to £1.18bn over the three months to December. One institutional [...]
Postive England setup should trouble Welsh February 4, 2010 ENGLAND Vs WALES UNDERACHIEVING England coach Martin Johnson has thrown down the gauntlet. By picking a positive starting XV – which notably includes Mathew Tait at outside centre – they are sending a message not just to Wales, their opponents at Twickenham tomorrow, but also to the other members of the Six Nations. Sale Shark [...]
Morgan Stanley lands Goldman veteran to help lead equity trading in New York February 4, 2010 Morgan Stanley has hired a 30-year Goldman Sachs veteran to help lead the firm’s equity-trading business, the latest in a series of moves designed to bolster the firm’s sales and trading operations. Anthony Lauto – who left Goldman in 2007 – will join Morgan Stanley’s New York office as a managing director. Morgan Stanley — [...]
GMAC knocked by toxic mortgage writedowns February 4, 2010 GMAC Financial Services, which is majority-owned by the US government, said yesterday it swung to a $5bn (£3.2bn) loss in the fourth quarter after writing down bad mortgage assets. That compares with a net profit of $7.5bn in the fourth quarter of 2008. GMAC said in December it did not expect to record more major [...]
Northern Bank sets aside £169m to cover bad loans February 4, 2010 NORTHERN Bank, the Belfast-based lender, has reported a £100m loss. The deposit-taker posted an operating profit of £68.6m but had to set aside £168.7m to cover toxic loan losses, most of them on property. Chief executive Gerry Mallon said so far only £7.6m had been written off on debts: “Given the local climate, we had [...]
LVMH gives a boost to luxury goods sector February 4, 2010 LVMH, the owner of luxury retailer Louis Vuitton and champagne house Moët & Chandon, yesterday said like- for-like sales in the fourth quarter of the year grew one per cent after achieving record sales in December. The Paris-based group said profit from recurring operations fell to €3.35bn (£2.9bn), down eight per cent from €3.63bn in [...]
SUPER BOWL XLIV February 4, 2010 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS Vs INDIANAPOLIS COLTS PREPARE for an afternoon snooze if you plan to stay up for the 44th installment of America’s greatest sporting spectacle. Super Bowl debutants and the NFC’s top seeds New Orleans Saints (Who Dat?!) face the AFC’s best, Indianapolis Colts – the first time since 1993 that both top seeds [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT POWER SHORTAGES IN THE FUTURE? February 4, 2010 IAN JACKSON | IROKO SECURITIES “I’ve fixed my electricity bills for the next three years, but it all depends on what happens after that. Energy bills are going up every day, so who knows what will happen in five years’ time? As the consumers, I’m sure we’ll have to bear the brunt.” MARK YALLOP | [...]
