Rise in Taylor Wimpey sales lifts margins September 19, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey said yesterday that sales rates in recent weeks have been encouraging, as the industry has benefited from a seasonal surge in home buying activity. The FTSE 250-listed firm added it is on track to deliver on margin targets this year. The country’s second largest builder by market value said net sales rates [...]
Alliance sees opportunity in crisis September 19, 2011 THE global debt crisis has a long way to run but has created an opportunity for investors to be “greedy”, the chief executive of Britain’s largest investment trust said yesterday. Katherine Garrett-Cox of Alliance Trust, which runs £2.9bn of assets, criticised the “bailout botox” policy adopted in Europe, and said deleveraging would be a painful [...]
HellermannTyton growing as private equity parent ponders exit strategy September 19, 2011 INDUSTRIAL group HellermannTyton is no closer to a sale despite its private equity owner appointing advisers last year. Doughty Hanson, which bought the cable clip and fixing manufacturer from telecommunications firm Spirent for £303m in 2006, is believed to have asked UBS to consider its disposal options. No deal is imminent but City A.M. understands [...]
Heron Tower notches up more tenants but most floors empty September 19, 2011 THE HERON Tower on Bishopsgate has signed up four new tenants, though the 230m-tall skyscraper remains two-thirds empty six months after completion. Developer Heron International said yesterday that investment manager Partners Group, forex broker City Credit Capital, derivatives trader Chicago Trading Company and Snoras, a Lithuanian bank, have agreed to take space in the tower. [...]
Investment bank Shore ready to do more deals September 19, 2011 BOUTIQUE investment bank Shore Capital may make more acquisitions after reporting an increase in first-half revenue. The Aim-listed bank said revenue rose 12 per cent to £20.44m while pre-tax profit dipped 17 per cent to £3.86m. Last year Shore Capital spent €2.885m (£2.5m) on a controlling stake in Spectrum Investments, a vehicle for buying a [...]
Petra warns of volatility in diamond price September 19, 2011 PETRA Diamonds expects rough diamond prices to remain volatile for the remainder of this year as a result of recent economic uncertainty, the Africa-focused miner said as it posted a 5.4 per cent fall in core full-year profit. Earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation dipped to $67.1m (£42.6m) missing the consensus of $74.5m, for [...]
Prada profits jump 74 pc on high Asia sales September 19, 2011 ITALIAN fashion house Prada posted a 74 per cent rise in first-half profit yesterday, beating the forecast in its June listing prospectus, and said it would stick to its plan for opening new stores. Milan-based Prada, a maker of luxury bags and Miu Miu dresses, said group net profit totalled €180m (£156.6m) in the six [...]
Businesses gloomy over euro troubles September 19, 2011 BUSINESS leaders throughout the world hold an extremely gloomy outlook for the near future, a survey has revealed this morning. Seven in 10 senior business workers say it is “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that a global economic recession will arrive in the coming months, according to research by the Harvard Business Review. Europe’s ongoing [...]
Tyco divides itself into three September 19, 2011 DIVERSIFIED manufacturer Tyco International is moving to separate its businesses into three independent publicly traded companies, becoming the latest US conglomerate to do so. Investors cheered the move and drove the company’s shares up nine per cent in pre-market trade yesterday. Consumer companies Kraft Foods, Ralcorp Holdings, finance-to-education conglomerate McGraw-Hill and energy giant ConocoPhillips have [...]
Debt-ridden and credit-fuelling states made crisis worse, top economist says September 19, 2011 HIGH government spending deficits and the credit-fuelled boom left many wealthy countries particularly vulnerable to the financial crisis, a leading economist said in London yesterday. In contrast, some emerging economies avoided the credit boom and had budget surpluses at the time of the crunch, subsequently coping better with the economic crisis, Professor Maurice Obstfeld of [...]
