Gannett profits beat expectations October 19, 2009 Gannett, the largest US newspaper publisher, reported a lower quarterly profit that beat market forecasts yesterday thanks to cost cuts, while revenue fell because of a 28 per cent drop in publishing advertising sales. Gannett, publisher of USA Today, posted third-quarter net income of $73.8m (£45m) compared with $158.1m last year. Revenues fell by 18 [...]
Opel trust:no need to reopen sale October 19, 2009 The German trust set up to oversee Opel said it saw no reason to re-open the carmaker’s sale despite EU concerns that Germany’s promises of state aid had skewed the bidding process. Seeking to deflate a row over €4.5bn (£4.1bn) in state aid that Berlin promised Opel should Canadian auto parts firm Magna buy the [...]
LVMH sales remain slow October 19, 2009 LVMH, the French luxury goods firm, said its third-quarter sales fell by 0.6 per cent after demand remained poor. But the firm, which produces brands like Moet champagne and Louis Vuitton fashion, said destocking of its top-end labels should come to an end soon. It reported sales of €4.14bn (£3.8bn), versus €4.16bn a year earlier. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 19, 2009 LAIRDKBC Peel Hunt upgraded Laird to “buy” from “hold” ahead of next week’s first half management statement. The broker has concluded there are potential upgrades to its forecasts based on restocking trends, high incremental profit drop-through and entry into a period of easier year-on-year comparatives.WH SMITHInvestec said that WH Smith’s expansion of its Travel division [...]
Norilsk profit hit on metals price collapse October 19, 2009 Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest nickel miner, yesterday said lower metal prices pushed first-half profit down sharply, but the results beat analyst forecasts. Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 84 per cent year-on-year to $419m (£256m). Mining companies around the world have struggled over the past year as falling industrial demand caused by the global [...]
London hotels outperform UK as bookings dwindle October 19, 2009 HOTEL occupancy in the capital has seen a marginal decline compared to the rest of the UK this year, according to figures out yesterday by accountancy firm Deloitte. Hotels in the UK have suffered a 10.9 per cent fall in revenue per available room (Revpar) during the first three quarters of 2009 to just £60. [...]
Alpha Bank joins cash call run October 19, 2009 Alpha Bank, Greece’s third largest lender, will issue new shares and repay almost €1bn (£914m) of state support in a move to cut ties with government and resume paying dividends. A three-for-10 rights issue will raise €986m to redeem €940m of preferred shares the bank sold the government earlier this year. The deal is expected [...]
EMOTION IS DRIVING DOW ABOVE 10,000 October 19, 2009 MARTIN SLANEYHEAD OF DERIVATIVES, GFT AFTER all the build-up, the Dow finally did it. For the first time in a year, America’s most famous market climbed back above 10,000. This apparently momentous occasion generated much attention and in last week’s column I suspected that the raft of blue chip results would lend enough momentum for [...]
Take a punt and profit from M&A recovery October 19, 2009 FOLLOWING a dearth of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the wake of the financial crisis, returning confidence and cash to credit-constrained companies has seen a flurry of deals and bids over the past month. Yesterday, Stagecoach made a fresh all-share offer for its beleaguered rival National Express despite a consortium walking away from takeover [...]
Pick the right defensive firm to protect your stock portfolio October 19, 2009 DESPITE analysts’ continued calls for a much-needed pullback in global equity markets, the FTSE 100 has stubbornly risen to the 5,200 mark. And if you believe that equities are due a correction, then you might want to bulk up your portfolio with a few defensive stocks as they tend to remain relatively stable, even in [...]
