Honda profits driven up by scrap scheme October 27, 2009 CAR giant Honda tripled its annual profit forecasts yesterday, as second-quarter earnings fell less than forecast on the back of scrappage schemes worldwide. Honda has weathered the industrial turmoil, which drove two US car giants into bankruptcy last year, better than its competitors as its profitable motorbike business cushioned the blow. The carmaker said yesterday [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 27, 2009 MCBRIDEHaving started the year with conservative margin assumptions for McBride, Investec has upgraded these in light of its strong start to full-year 2010. The broker said that the top line performance is broadly as expected, but that a better mix is driving profits ahead. Investec therefore lifted earnings per share estimates in the region of [...]
Further tube strikes threatened October 27, 2009 Tube drivers on the Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines will be balloted for strike action, it emerged yesterday, in a dispute over new timetables. Union bosses are meeting today to approve a ballot for the 250 drivers at Neasden depot, which serves the two lines. The threat brings yet more bad news for commuters, [...]
Valero ups refinery expectations October 27, 2009 Leading US refiner Valero Energy said yesterday it expects its 16 refineries to run between 2.19m and 2.27m barrels per day (bpd) in the fourth quarter. The company's Gulf Coast refineries will run between 1.15m bpd and 1.2m bpd in the fourth quarter, the company said.
Vestas blows investors away October 27, 2009 Vestas, the world's largest wind turbine maker, reported a big jump in quarterly profits yesterday after increasing deliveries of turbines. Net profit for July to September came in at €165m (£150m), up 70 per cent on the €97m recorded a year ago. Revenue rose to €1.81bn from €1.76bn a year ago. The company also reiterated [...]
Chevron plant in shutdown phase October 27, 2009 Chevron said yesterday it was undertaking unspecified planned work at its 279,000 barrel-per-day refinery in El Segundo, California, but reassured investors that the plant was continuing to operate. Earlier this week, Chevron said in a filing with the California Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) that the Los Angeles-area El Segundo plant “is going through a shutdown [...]
City Moves for 28 October 2009 | Who’s switching jobs October 27, 2009 GAMThe investment management firm has appointed Niall Gallagher as an investment director, effective from 2 November. Gallagher, who will be responsible for managing GAM’s European long-only equity strategies, previously managed pan-European and continental European equities at T. Rowe Price. He also formerly worked at BlackRock for nine years, having begun his career as an economist [...]
Punters look for quality when recommending brands October 27, 2009 HOW important is buzz? To find out, we compared three sets of BrandIndex scores – “buzz”, “quality”, and “recommend” – for three leading Japanese car brands (Nissan, Toyota, Subaru). Graph one shows the scatter for buzz against recommend, Graph two for buzz against quality. There is virtually no correlation between these brands’ buzz and recommend [...]
BBVA eyes up US expansion but shuns UK October 27, 2009 BBVA, Spain’s second-largest bank, is eyeing the US for expansion as it strengthens its capital base ahead of expected tougher regulation, its chief executive said yesterday. “Our expansion strategy has not changed. We are clearly focusing on the US,” Angel Cano said alongside the bank’s nine-month results. Europe’s sixth-largest bank, a relative winner from the [...]
LITE’S OUT October 27, 2009 THE future of free evening paper The London Lite was in doubt last night, after owner DMGT said it was considering closing the tabloid. London Lite was launched three years ago to take on Rupert Murdoch’s thelondonpaper, which closed last month. DMGT is now consulting with the paper’s 36 employees. The announcement comes a week [...]
