UBS rings the changes as it reports a loss August 13, 2008 UBS announced wholesale changes to structure and personnel yesterday, including a new chief financial officer, as it posted an interim loss of Sfr358m (£173m), bringing the curtain down on a dire results season for banks. The Swiss bank posted writedowns of $5.1bn on risky investments, mitigated by a tax credit of $2.8bn. It also took [...]
Growth slows for hotelier as guests skimp August 13, 2008 The world’s largest hotelier, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), has reported first-half operating profits of $291m (£153m), an increase of 29 per cent – despite slow second quarter growth from its US operations. Reporting in US dollars for the first time, IHG announced an increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) of four per cent, though [...]
Listings fall trims profits at UK broker August 13, 2008 Collins Stewart, the British broker that is currently the subject of takeover discussions, reported an 82 per cent slump in first-half profits yesterday, which it blamed on poor performance from its capital markets unit. Pre-tax profit nosedived from £52m to £9.6m and the interim dividend was slashed from 2.5p to 1.2p, as chairman Terry Smith [...]
Sterling slumps as inflation surges to a 16-year record August 13, 2008 Today’s Bank of England quarterly report will slash UK economic growth forecasts A surge in inflation sent sterling tumbling to a 21-month low yesterday as City economists warned that the chances of recession are increasing. Consumer price inflation (CPI) jumped by 4.4 per cent in the year to July, fuelled by rocketing food and oil [...]
Oar-some Florence bags silver August 13, 2008 David Florence continued Great Britain’s Olympic medal trail with a battling silver in the men’s slalom canoe event. The 26-year-old Scot climbed two places on the final day of competition to become Britain’s first slalom canoeing medallist since Gareth Marriott at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. His performance completed another successful day for Britain’s athletes [...]
Pietersen’s passed his first test as captain but still has work to do August 13, 2008 Already we’ve seen the Kevin Pietersen effect rub off on the England Test side – now it will be interesting to see how he can revitalise the ailing one-day setup, still reeling after a heavy defeat by New Zealand. Pietersen’s captaincy for the fourth and final Test at The Oval was infectious, encouraging his players [...]
It’s medals galore for Britain as Cook lands double success August 13, 2008 Emotional Tina Cook spoke of her “dream come true” after helping Great Britain to a double Olympic medal success in the equestrian in Hong Kong. Cook, competing in her first Olympic Games at the age of 37, bagged two bronze medals in a matter of hours after enjoying success in both the individual and team [...]
Russia orders a halt to war August 13, 2008 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a halt to military operations in Georgia yesterday but Tbilisi cast doubt on the announcement, saying Moscow was still bombing towns and villages. The announcement coincided with the visit of French president Nicolas Sarkozy to Moscow on an EU peace mission and seemed intended to help international efforts to negotiate [...]
Crazy in lobe August 13, 2008 In the world of earrings, bigger and bolder is definitely better, says Zoe Strimpel Times are changing; we’re not quite the over-mortgaging, champagne slugging society we once were. And, odd as it may sound, earrings are as good a sign of the times as any. New figures from John Lewis show sales of jewellery are [...]
Tesco to open wholesaling chain in India August 13, 2008 Supermarket giant Tesco yesterday said it was pushing into India by launching a wholesale cash-and-carry business. At the same time it announced a deal with Indian titan Tata to help it expand its fledgling hypermarket business. Tesco will invest £60m in its wholesale business – which will supply Tata’s chain of food stores, as well [...]
