BAT sees volumes fall but sales hold up April 28, 2010 BRITISH American Tobacco, the world’s No 2 cigarette maker, reported a four per cent fall in underlying first-quarter volumes but said price rises led to good sales growth and it remains on track for 2010. The London-based group, which makes Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, said that its consumers were finding economic [...]
Home Retail in share buy back as earnings fall April 28, 2010 ARGOS and Homebase owner Home Retail Group has announced plans for a share buy back of up to £150m as new figures showed its annual profit had dropped by 11 per cent. Underlying profits fell to £292.9m for the year to 27 February. Earnings were hit by weak consumer spending and a lower pound, which [...]
Shell profits soar after oil price hike April 28, 2010 ROYAL Dutch Shell’s quarterly profits jump by nearly 50 per cent to $4.9bn (£3.2bn). The oil giant said an increase in energy prices had fuelled the hike. The figure was 49 per cent up on the same period last year. Shell is in the process of a massive shake-up which includes 2,000 job cuts. Up [...]
FTSE sees biggest fall in five months after S&P slashes rating on Greece April 27, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index dropped 2.6 per cent yesterday, the biggest fall in over five months as S&P downgrades for Greece and Portugal fuelled debt crisis contagion worries, smacking banks and commodity issues. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 150.33 points at 5,603.52, easily snapping an 88 point rally seen in the [...]
US stocks plummet over fears of eurozone chaos April 27, 2010 US stocks tumbled yesterday as downgrades of Greece and Portugal fuelled fear about eurozone economic stability, and a grilling of Goldman Sachs on Capitol Hill heightened the possibility of financial reform. Stocks posted their worst day in nearly three months and the CBOE Vix volatility index, Wall Street’s barometer of investor fear, jumped about 31 [...]
FLASHING THE CASH IN THE CITY’S STRIP CLUBS April 27, 2010 FANS of this column’s Bill of the Week feature are in for a treat this week, as a second receipt dropped onto The Capitalist’s desk yesterday that was simply too juicy to stay under wraps until Monday. Feast your eyes on the gem to the right, which came from the Secrets table dancing club at [...]
Showdown April 27, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs executives yesterday gave a robust defence of the bank’s behaviour during the financial meltdown. Senators grilled the bank’s top players for more than nine hours as they desperately sought an admission of guilt that was never forthcoming. During the ill-tempered affair Goldman executives, including boss Lloyd Blankfein and chief financial officer David Viniar, [...]
Greece debt junked as crisis mounts April 27, 2010 ONE of the world’s most respected credit rating agencies dealt a hammer blow to financial markets yesterday, dropping Greek bonds to junk status and downgrading Portugal. The FTSE 100 plunged 2.6 per cent to 5,603.52, while the Dow Jones Index lost 1.9 per cent to 10.992 as Standard & Poor’s said the Greek government faced [...]
Greek crisis rocks markets April 27, 2010 GREECE’s financial chaos threatened to spiral out of control last night, battering world markets as fears rose that other European nations could be swept up into the crisis. The FTSE 100 Index sunk 2.6 per cent to 5603.5 amid a global sell-off with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting 1.9 per cent to 10,991.9, France’s [...]
Sovereign disaster looms ever closer April 27, 2010 GOOD on Standard and Poor’s for downgrading Greece’s bonds to junk status – the only question, as ever with ratings agencies, is why didn’t it act any sooner? The situation has been deteriorating by the day, despite repeated statements by the IMF and the EU that all would be taken care of. Once again, the [...]
