Wall Street hits high on robust corporate earnings April 29, 2010 US stocks chalked up their best day in nearly two months yesterday as investors welcomed a string of robust earnings reports, while Greece appeared close to a bailout deal, easing fears about a wider sovereign debt crisis. News that Greece was readying severe austerity measures to secure a multibillion euro aid package spurred widespread relief, [...]
Hammerson says property market fragile April 29, 2010 ANGLO-FRENCH property investor Hammerson remains cautious about the outlook for the retail and commercial property markets, due to the weak economic recovery. “The economic recovery in our markets remains fragile, and uncertainties remain, not least regarding the level of unemployment and the prospect of further tax rises,” the company said yesterday . In the UK, [...]
AstraZeneca hikes guidance April 29, 2010 ASTRAZENECA’s first quarter profits soared by 29 per cent, helped by sales of its cholesterol drug Crestor and schizophrenia medicine Seroquel. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker smashed expectations and has upped its profit target for the full-year following the sharp rise in earnings. Emerging market sales were also behind the strong results, the company added. “We saw [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 29, 2010 GLAXOSMITHKLINE Citi Group Global Markets maintains a “buy” recommendation on drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as it says the group’s sustained delivery of top-line growth should allow expansion into a number of treatments. Citi remains bullish on GSK’s opportunity to drive revenue growth through the consumer business. BP Despite the Macondo spill, Bank of America Merrill [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 29, 2010 Aviva The insurance giant has appointed Tim Harris as its new deputy chief financial officer and chief capital officer. Harris is currently chief financial officer of Aviva’s European business. He has also been the group’s chief accountant and, before that, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Aviva has also appointed Richard Dewar, the chief financial officer at [...]
Shire is bolstered by new drugs coming to market April 29, 2010 DRUGMAKER Shire posted better-than-expected first quarter earnings yesterday, as new drugs offset losses of exclusivity for its blockbuster medicine Adderall XR, used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder. Shire has bolstered its franchise with new drugs Vyvanse and Intuniv, as Adderall XR wanes in the face of generic competition from Israel’s Teva. The company is also [...]
All Child Trust Funds are not equal, so pick yours carefully April 29, 2010 WITH Child Trust Funds (CTF) turning five this month, families are being urged to view this anniversary as an opportunity to review the scheme they have in place. Launched in April 2005, CTFs were opened for all children born after 1 September 2002 with a £250 lump sum, rising to £500 for children from the [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS April 29, 2010 STATE-OWNED MORTGAGE LENDERS FAIL TO SATISFY State-owned mortgage providers are trailing behind smaller lenders and building societies for customer satisfaction, says a new survey from Which? Money. Bank of Scotland – part of Lloyds Banking Group – had the lowest score; just 41 per cent of customers were satisfied with the provider. Halifax (44 per [...]
Generating cash from caring April 29, 2010 IT’S NOT often that an entrepreneur comes up with a multi-million pound idea while out with his elderly aunts looking at care homes around the south of England. But that is what happened to ex-advertising whiz Mike Parsons. That was back in 1988. The dismal state of the care homes that he visited sparked an [...]
A rush to the exit can hurt your profits April 29, 2010 AFTER you’ve built a successful business you’re faced with a dilemma – what do you do now? You might stay and try to take the business to the next level, but what if you’re a serial entrepreneur or you have dreams of an early retirement? If you want out then you need to come up [...]
