Caterpillar to cull jobs even as sales grow October 26, 2009 CATERPILLAR, the world’s biggest maker of heavy machinery, said yesterday it plans to permanently axe 2,500 workers even as increasing demand will allow it to recall some employees who were laid off during the economic downturn. Caterpillar has already brought back some workers, and estimates that due to signs of recovery in the global economy, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 26, 2009 STANDARD CHARTEREDMorgan Stanley upgraded Standard Chartered to “equalweight”, with an increased price target of 1,500p, due to lower credit costs and better wholesale revenues. But the broker noted that, if growth slows, asset quality could again suffer and that the recent excellent growth in wholesale may be unsustainable. AEGISNoble downgraded Aegis from “positive” to “neutral” [...]
McBride shares rocket on uplift October 26, 2009 McBride, Europe’s biggest maker of retailer own-brand household products, yesterday said it was trading ahead of internal expectations, boosted by foreign exchange gains and consumers switching to own-brand products. The group said it expects to increase its forecast for pre-tax profit in the year to end-June 2010 by about £6m to about £42m. The group’s [...]
German confidence falls October 26, 2009 German consumer sentiment declined for the first time in just over a year going into November, weighed down by lower income expectations and a diminished willingness to buy, data showed yesterday. The consumer sentiment indicator from GfK market research eased slightly to 4.0 for November from a downwardly revised 4.2 for October – its first [...]
Electrolux posts leap in earnings October 26, 2009 Electrolux, the world’s second-biggest home appliances maker, posted a much larger than expected core third-quarter profit yesterday thanks to cost cuts, stable prices and lower raw material costs. Quarterly earnings before interest and tax rose to 2.23bn Swedish crowns (£200m), excluding extraordinary items, from 1.18bn Swedish crowns a year ago.
IHGsigns deal for new hotel in Westminster October 26, 2009 INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group yesterday said it had signed a £100m 20 year management contract with Splendid Hotel Group for a new 254-room, six storey InterContinental hotel in the centre of Westminster IHG will develop a new luxury six-storey hotel the former Queen Anne’s Chambers close to New Scotland Yard, which was originally built in the [...]
RadioShack beats Wall St forecasts October 26, 2009 ELECTRONICS chain RadioShack yesterday posted third-quarter sales that topped Wall Street expectations, helped by its push into mobile phones, sending its shares up 16 per cent to a year high. Net sales totaled $990m (£606m), well ahead of average Wall Street forecasts of $961.7m. While profit was slightly below estimates, falling to $37.4m from $49.1m, [...]
Pension funds on road to recovery, says the OECD October 26, 2009 IN the first half of 2009, pension funds tracked by the OECD recovered $1.5 trillion (£918bn) of the $5.4 trillion they lost in market value last year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said yesterday. “The recovery in pension fund performance has continued through 30 September 2009, on the back of strong equity returns, [...]
Branson ups ante with launch of Virgin Bank October 26, 2009 SERIAL entrepreneur Sir?Richard Branson is back with another audacious venture. This time, he is applying to City watchdog the FSA for permission to turn his Virgin Money business into a fully fledged bank – but the move has divided the City. Virgin has been trying to boost its financial services presence for some time now. [...]
CITY VIEWS: HOW UPBEAT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SIR RICHARD BRANSON’S LATEST FORAY INTO BANKING? October 26, 2009 JULIAN TAVORA CGD“As a consumer, it’s always good to have more options and more competition in the retail banking market. Branson’s name will add respect to the brand, but he is involved with many different things so will need to hire specialist talent to recognise the bank’s potential.” NISHA TAILOR RBC DEXIA“I am upbeat – [...]
