Miners push up FTSE 100 May 22, 2012 Britain’s leading share index jumped yesterday, driven by gains in mining stocks as the demand picture for metals was brightened by hopes of fresh moves by China to boost its economy. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 98.80 points – or 1.9 per cent – at 5,403.28 points, adding strongly to Monday’s 0.7 per cent [...]
Tesco chief turns down £372,000 bonus May 22, 2012 Tesco boss Philip Clarke has opted not to take an annual bonus of about £372,000 following a poor performance by the world’s third-biggest retailer in its main British market. Shares in Tesco, which issued a shock profit warning in January, have lost almost a quarter of their value this year and the company is now [...]
Mitie seeks out overseas deals as sales jump May 21, 2012 OUTSOURCER Mitie yesterday said it was eyeing international growth as it reported record revenues. The FTSE-250 company, which has dozens of UK government contracts, has a brimming order book with services including security and maintenance growing. Its pre-tax profits jumped 5.9 per cent to £94.5m for the year to the end of March. Mitie’s order [...]
Bank rally helps steady FTSE May 21, 2012 The FTSE 100 was solid this morning despite the storm clouds – created by the Eurozone crisis – still hanging over markets. Over the weekend G8 leaders stressed their “imperative” was to promote growth and jobs and gave verbal backing for Greece to stay in the euro. But despite calls from the United States for [...]
Mitie profit rises as order book swells May 21, 2012 British outsourcing firm Mitie posted an 8.9 per cent rise in full year profit and said it was upbeat about growth prospects in the coming year as governments and businesses seek to cut costs and secure energy supply. Mitie, which provides catering, cleaning and maintenance services for clients like Vodafone, Tesco, and the British government, [...]
Asda market share up as it lures shoppers with price guarantee May 17, 2012 ASDA, the British arm of supermarket giant Walmart, said it continued to gain market share in the first quarter of the year as its focus on low prices and a revamping of own-brand ranges helped drive sales growth. The UK’s second-biggest supermarket chain behind Tesco, said like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT accelerated in the [...]
Supermarkets kick off petrol price drop wars May 15, 2012 TWO of the UK’s top four supermarkets have said they will cut fuel prices from today, passing on savings to customers as the cost of wholesale oil continues to fall. Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – the third and fourth biggest supermarkets by market share respectively – both confirmed yesterday they will cut petrol prices by up [...]
Ageas reports loss but strong growth in UK May 14, 2012 BELGIAN-based insurer Ageas yesterday recorded a net loss of €84m (£67m) for the first quarter, mainly as a result of outstanding issues stemming from its former identity as part of failed bank Fortis. The loss was less than analysts had expected, and the firm’s insurance division achieved a strong 15 per cent rise in net [...]
Borrows set to reign at 3i after Queen leaves May 13, 2012 TOP City rainmaker Simon Borrows is set to be named this week as chief executive of 3i, Britain’s oldest private equity firm. Borrows, who joined as chief investment officer last summer, will take over from Michael Queen, who in March announced his intention to step down. The promotion of Borrows will surprise few in the [...]
ANALYST VIEWS HOW IS SAINSBURY’S FARING IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT? May 9, 2012 JAMES GRZINIC JEFFERIES Sainsbury’s full-year results were nearly two per cent better than expected…Crucially, the group has confirmed that it expects core capex to decline from the 2011-12 peak of £1.24bn to £1bn in 2012-13. We expect yield merits to be better underpinned given better cashflow dynamics, but Morrisons and Tesco are a 20 per [...]