Consumers tighten belts as GDP slumps September 29, 2009 THE scale of Britons’ belt-tightening was laid bare by data showing record consumer credit repayments in August and a five-year high in households’ savings ratio in the second quarter. Official data confirmed Britain’s economy suffered its worst 12 months since modern records began in 1955, with output falling by 5.5 per cent year-on-year in the [...]
CIT nears deal on $10bn new credit line to stave off demise September 29, 2009 CIT Group, the stricken US lending giant, is negotiating a new credit facility in a key step in its continuing fight against bankruptcy. CIT is understood to be nearing a deal on new financing worth as much as $10bn (£6.3bn), which could help it pay off debt obligations. But it continues the fight to renegotiate [...]
UK mortgage approvals steady as money supply gauge improves September 29, 2009 BRITISH mortgage approvals for house purchase held broadly steady in August, Bank of England (BoE) figures showed yesterday, while consumers paid down unsecured debt at the fastest rate since records began in 1993. Mortgage approvals, a lead indicator of housing demand, slipped fractionally to 52,317 last month, broadly in line with expectations, from an upwardly [...]
DMGT reports a pick-up in regional advertising September 29, 2009 NEWSPAPER publisher Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) yesterday said it was confident of meeting market expectations and gave fresh evidence of recovery in the consumer media market. DMGT, which runs business-to business publications, conferences and radio operations as well as its national titles, said trading conditions in consumer media were difficult but it was [...]
ARE YOU ENCOURAGED BY DMGT’S TRADING UPDATE? September 29, 2009 ANDY VINER BDO STOY HAYWARD“DMGT is also benefiting from having reacted early to the downturn with a cost control programme of around 15 per cent of its workforce. It was also encouraging to see comments around positive cash flow and continued net debt reduction. It now looks to be boosted by an improved advertising outlook [...]
Price war to start as Voda grabs iPhone September 29, 2009 VODAFONE said yesterday that it has sealed a deal to sell Apple’s iPhone in the UK, likely sparking a price war between the three biggest mobile networks. Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile operator by revenue, said it will be able to sell the must-have device from early 2010, though it did not confirm an exact [...]
iPhone is coolest brand but not the most reliable September 29, 2009 THE iPhone is the coolest brand, according to YouGov research for CoolBrands. Aston Martin came second, with – astonishingly – Apple and iPod in positions three and four. It’s an amazing success story, and the first graph shows the climb over the past year. The scores here are proportional, which means the proportion of positive [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 29, 2009 BAE SYSTEMSExecution Securities initiated coverage on BAE Systems with a “sell” rating and price target of 290p. The broker believes that concerns about potential programme cuts in the US and UK will continue into 2010 at the least, and that the stock has further potential valuation downside. It prefers BAE rival Cobham. WOLSELEYDeutsche Bank said [...]
Shed Media boosted by US September 29, 2009 TV production company Shed Media posted higher first-half results yesterday, helped by a significant growth in production revenue, and said it was confident of its full-year outlook. Shed, which produced the Oscar-winning documentary Man on Wire, reported adjusted pre-tax profit of £5.1m for the six months ended 30 June, compared with £3.8m a year earlier. [...]
Boris halts office block plans September 29, 2009 Plans for a redevelopment of a 1960s City office block, Beagle House, have been rejected by London Mayor Boris Johnson because of its impact on views of the Tower of London. Molloy Properties had lodged plans with Tower Hamlets in July for a site between Camperdown Street and Leman Street in Aldgate, which would have [...]
