Retail sales edge up after World Cup boost July 22, 2010 RETAIL sales volumes received a World Cup boost in June after strong sales of electrical goods drove a faster-than-expected 0.7 per cent monthly rise, official data showed. The Office for National Statistics said sales volumes rose 1.3 per cent on the year, also faster than the one per cent gain expected after an upward revision [...]
Kingfisher sales drop offset by cost-cutting July 22, 2010 B&Q owner Kingfisher said it was on track to meet first-half profit expectations, with cost cutting and business improvement measures offsetting a dip in underlying sales. The firm, which also operates the Castorama and Brico Depot chains in France, said sales at stores open at least a year fell 0.8 per cent in the 10 [...]
Sports Direct profit surges by 50pc July 22, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest sporting goods retailer Sports Direct hit forecasts with a 50 per cent rise in annual profit and predicted more growth in the 2010-11 year. “We believe we are operationally stronger than ever,” chief executive Dave Forsey said. “Accordingly, and assuming no significant deterioration in economic conditions, we are targeting underlying EBITDA (earnings before [...]
Autonomy sees revenues rise 7pc as market picks up July 22, 2010 BRITISH software firm Autonomy posted a seven per cent rise in earnings in the second quarter, after seeing a “gentle” improvement in the market, giving it confidence about the year ahead. Chief Executive Mike Lynch said that the group’s customers, which include multinationals and governments, were positive but still cautious. “Overall we face the rest [...]
Credit Suisse beats forecasts with £1bn profit July 22, 2010 SWISS bank Credit Suisse has reported a profit of 1.6bn Swiss francs (£1bn) for the three months to the end of June, beating expectations. The profit was returned despite a fall in revenue from investment banking of almost a third, to 4.1bn francs. Analysts had expected the bank to turn in net profit of 1.229bn [...]
Cameron orders diplomats to be more business minded July 22, 2010 DIPLOMATS must put securing private-sector contracts at the heart of their work, Prime Minister David Cameron said in a speech in New York. The government is also expected to consider opening up applications for senior civil service jobs – including ambassador posts around the world – to people from the private sector to help engineer [...]
Merger mania grips the City July 21, 2010 A SUMMER flurry of corporate activity gathered pace yesterday as SSL, the maker of Durex condoms, agreed a £2.5bn takeover offer from Reckitt Benckiser, and the owners of United Biscuits put the firm up for sale. Shares in SSL soared 33.5 per cent to £11.77 after the board recommended the FTSE 100 household goods company’s [...]
Oil giants to create $1bn spill squad July 21, 2010 FOUR oil giants have pledged $1bn (£659m) for a rapid response unit to battle future spills in the Gulf of Mexico, in a bid to regain America’s trust following the BP disaster. Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell will contribute equally to create the non-profit Marin Well Containment Company (MWC). BP, whose Macondo well [...]
Fed chairman sparks sell-off July 21, 2010 US EQUITIES tanked and government bonds rallied yesterday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the country’s economy faced “unusually uncertain” prospects. All sectors of the S&P 500 shares index fell as Bernanke delivered a cloudy outlook a week after his staff slashed growth forecasts. The 56-year-old told the Senate Banking Committee: “Even as the [...]
Obama turning US into a bureaucracy July 21, 2010 LET us hope Barack Obama actually read the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Bill he signed into law last night. Astonishingly, it is 2,319 pages long and instructs government agencies to create new rules in 243 separate areas, guaranteeing many thousands more pages of guidance. That is as excessive as it sounds and confirms yet again that [...]
