John Lewis sales growth held back by weather August 3, 2012 John Lewis, Britain’s biggest department store group, said sales growth eased last week, with demand sapped by a spell of hot weather and the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The employee-owned firm said today department store sales increased 6.2 per cent year on year to £56.6m in the week to 28 July. In [...]
Allianz second-quarter net profit jumps to €1.32bn August 3, 2012 German insurer Allianz reported forecast-beating net profit of €1.32bn (£1.03bn) in the second quarter, up 23 per cent from a year earlier, helped by strong life and health insurance performance. Quarterly net profit was above the highest forecast of €1.29bn in a Reuters poll. Europe’s biggest insurer had been expected on average to report quarterly [...]
AXA first-half earnings fall, beat forecasts August 3, 2012 Europe’s second-largest insurer AXA reported a milder than expected 36 per cent drop in first-half profit from a year-ago period that had been boosted by a one-off gain from the sale of its Australia and New Zealand operations. AXA said its net income for the period fell to €2.59bn (£2.03bn) from €4.01bn in the year-ago [...]
IAG cuts full-year guidance as Iberia weighs August 3, 2012 IAG, formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, cut its full-year profit guidance after a poor performance from its Spanish unit and rising fuel costs led it to a first-half loss. Europe’s fourth-biggest airline group by market value today reported an operating loss of €253m (£199m) in the six months to the end [...]
RBS confirms it has sacked staff over Libor affair August 3, 2012 State-controlled lender Royal Bank of Scotland confirmed today it had dismissed a number of employees for misconduct as a result of its investigations into the Libor interest rate rigging scandal and along with other banks is still under investigation by regulators. “The Libor situation is on our agenda and is a stark reminder of the [...]
ECB: BAZOOKA IS STILL NOT READY August 2, 2012 MARKETS plunged yesterday after the European Central Bank (ECB) said it is not yet ready to help relieve the financial pressure on the troubled Spanish and Italian governments. Last week ECB boss Mario Draghi vowed to do “whatever it takes” to keep the euro together, sending markets soaring. But yesterday he failed to deliver on [...]
Cameron says Osborne will stay until 2015 August 2, 2012 GEORGE Osborne will remain as chancellor until the next general election in 2015, David Cameron insisted last night. In a bid to quash speculation that Osborne would be moved in his September reshuffle, the Prime Minister insisted that the chancellor had his “full support”. Pressed on whether Osborne would be chancellor at the next election, [...]
Knight Capital looks for cash after $440m error August 2, 2012 US firm Knight Capital, the company behind a software glitch which led to trades being cancelled in New York on Wednesday, was scrambling to raise capital last night after it revealed the error had accidentally wiped $440m (£283m) off the company’s balance sheet. The New Jersey based equity broker, which placed the bad trades in [...]
Cameron’s decision to stick with Osborne is a major gamble August 2, 2012 SO that’s it, then. George Osborne will remain chancellor after the September reshuffle, and will keep his job until the election. David Cameron was emphatic yesterday. It means his fortunes are now inextricably linked to his chancellor’s; critics of Osborne’s policies will now also become critics of Cameron’s; and anybody who wants to replace the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 2, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Siemens sets out €3bn share buyback Siemens, the German industrial conglomerate, plans to buy back up to €3bn in shares by the end of the year as it tries to make best use of its capital structure. Siemens said in a statement late on Thursday that the equity-for-debt swap would be used to [...]
