Thomas Cook enjoys surge in bookings September 30, 2009 Tour operator Thomas Cook said it had traded well in its fourth quarter thanks to growing demand for package holidays and was on track to hit full-year profit expectations. Europe’s second-biggest tour operator yesterday also outlined plans to further expand its financial services activities through acquisitions but said it has no plans to go to [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 30, 2009 ERNST & YOUNGThe accountancy firm has hired Luke Reeve as a director and Chris Lowe, pictured, as an associate director to beef up its capital markets advisory group in the face of the ongoing liquidity challenges faced by firms in the downturn. Reeve was previously head of private debt capital markets for the EMEA region [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 30, 2009 DATATECInvestec said that Datatec is on track to meet its full-year guidance, but that a technicality on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange mandates an update. The broker made no changes to its forecasts but increased its target price to 210p and downgraded its recommendation to “hold”, purely on valuation grounds. COMPASSEvolution Securities nudged up its Compass [...]
Blacks closes 90 stores and axes 50 staff September 30, 2009 OUTDOOR goods retailer Blacks Leisure plans to close 89 loss-making stores and axe about 50 head-office jobs, it said yesterday, as part of a recovery plan it hopes will win the support of its banks. The firm, which has over 400 stores including the Blacks Outdoor and Millets chains, said the job losses represented about [...]
CIC takes stake in KMG as China seeks to take advantage of commodity slump September 30, 2009 CHINESE wealth fund CIC yesterday bought a stake in KazMunaiGas Exploration Production (KMG), the Kazakh oil and gas company, which is listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, and has its GDRs listed on the London Stock Exchange. State-owned CIC, which has over $300bn (£189bn) under management, paid $939m for an 11 per cent stake in [...]
BRANSON ON LOOKOUT FOR SPACE RACE BUDDY September 29, 2009 MUCH is resting on tycoon Sir Richard Branson’s hotly-anticipated new venture to infinity and beyond. Virgin Galactic – which plans to fly the first commercial passenger flight into space within the next couple of years – is well underway with planned test flights for its spaceship and carrier aircraft, more than a decade after the [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 29, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed marginally lower yesterday as buoyant financials struggled against disappointing US data, falls from miners and Vodafone. The index closed 5.98 points, or 0.1 per cent, lower at 5,159.72, after a choppy day of trading, having ended Monday’s session 1.6 per cent firmer. Miners were among the biggest laggards, with investors plagued [...]
NEW YORK REPORT September 29, 2009 US stocks fell yesterday as a surprise drop in a gauge of consumer confidence overshadowed signs of stabilisation in housing and solid earnings from Walgreen. Stocks started higher but then turned lower as the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for September fell. Even so, investors were reluctant to sell stocks indiscriminately. Major indexes spent most [...]
Hedge to smooth out the peaks and troughs September 29, 2009 COMPANIES with large foreign currency purchasing exposures are increasingly turning to hedging to protect themselves, using derivative financial instruments such as futures and options. Sterling weakness means currency management has become a necessity for those who buy materials from overseas. Take soft drinks maker AG Barr, for example, which reported strong results on Tuesday. The [...]
GOVERNMENT FUELLING YEN STRENGTH September 29, 2009 AS THE WEEK began, the yen continued its rampage through the currency market, hitting an eight-month high against the dollar on the first trading day of the week. I recently noted that since the greenback has become the prime funding source for the carry trade, the yen is no longer the whipping boy of the [...]
