Estonia poised for Eurozone despite crisis May 12, 2010 THE small Baltic state of Estonia is set next year to become the 17th member of the Eurozone, likely to be the crisis-hit currency area’s last enlargement for at least four years. Despite European Central Bank doubts about Estonia holding down inflation, the European Union’s executive arm said the ex-Soviet state of 1.4m was ready [...]
Life products boost insurers May 12, 2010 EUROPEAN insurers were yesterday buoyed by strong sales of life insurance and asset management products on the back of a reviving economy in the first quarter, offsetting big disaster damage claims. Germany’s Allianz, Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali, the Netherlands’ Aegon and Belgium’s Ageas, formerly known as Fortis, all reported strong first quarters as consumers’ fears began [...]
ING swings back to black as bad debts finally begin to fall May 12, 2010 ING smashed expectations with its first-quarter profit that soared on the back of rising financial markets and falling bad debt. The Dutch bank, led by chief executive Jan Hommen, said its exposure to Greece rose in the first quarter though its Portuguese portfolio fell, and it was comfortable with its position in sovereign debt. It [...]
Credit Agricole profits hurt by its exposure to crisis-hit Greece May 12, 2010 CREDIT Agricole yesterday warned it had been forced to make higher provisions for bad loans in Greece, tugging its first-quarter profits lower than expectations. The French bank made a profit of €470m (£400.2m) for the first three months of the year, failing to hit analyst forecasts despite hauling in more than its profits over the [...]
Greggs sales up as brekkie menu thrives May 12, 2010 GREGGS bakery reported another period of sales growth yesterday after being boosted by its new breakfast menu. The group said yesterday like-for-like sales rose by 0.6 per cent in the 18 weeks to 8 May, slightly lower than the rate in March but still in line with its expectations. The baker, which has 1,400 outlets, [...]
Comet sales fall but retailer keeps grip on market share May 12, 2010 COMET maintained its market share in the first four months of the year despite a fall in sales, its parent company Kesa said yesterday. The electrical goods company, which saw like-for-like sales fall four per cent, is facing increased competition from Currys – owned by DSG International – while American chain BestBuy has launched a new [...]
M&S agrees to £800m pension scheme injection May 12, 2010 RETAILER Marks & Spencer will pump £800m into its final salary pension after a review found the scheme was deeply in the red, it said yesterday. The clothing and food group said the scheme, which has about 123,000 members, had a deficit of £1.3bn at 31 March 2009, although that is likely to have since [...]
Hosting World Cup could give £3.2bn to UK May 12, 2010 THE economy would be £3.2bn better off if England hosts the 2018 football World Cup, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Business leaders including Sir Alan Sugar cited the findings yesterday as they backed the bid. Sugar from BBC1’s The Apprentice and British Airways chief Willie Walsh said winning the bid to hold the tournament [...]
CINEWORLD BOOSTED BY 3D BLOCKBUSTERS May 12, 2010 CINEMA chain Cineworld Group said yesterday it had traded strongly in the 18 weeks to 6 May with revenue up 13.9 per cent, driven by box office hits such as Avatar and Alice in Wonderland starring Johnny Depp (above). The company said it expected its first-half performance to be comfortably ahead of last year, helped [...]
BP accused of faulty device in US oil leak May 12, 2010 US lawmakers pressed BP executives about flaws in a crucial well safety device yesterday while the oil giant scrambled with its latest deep-sea effort to control the huge Gulf of Mexico spill that threatens environmental disaster. BP said it hoped to have a small containment dome in place by late today to staunch the oil [...]
