A twenty-first century wine firm, bringing Burgundy’s reds to China February 27, 2011 What is it like to work for a firm with two and a half centuries of tradition at your back? Hew Blair says it “drives you forward,” and his young broking manager Tom Jenkins agrees. The wine merchant Justerini and Brooks, the first wine firm to receive the royal warrant, has provided wines for every [...]
THE TIPSTER February 20, 2011 RECENTLY downgraded to “hold”, investors have not been deterred from Dragon Oil which will be publishing interim results tomorrow. As the crisis in the Middle East unfolds, and stop-gap governments evolve, oil prices, which have seen a correction since last week, should carry on rising and the sector continue to perform. Cantor Index offers a [...]
Agius: 50p tax makes it harder to keep talent in London February 15, 2011 THE 50p top tax rate makes it harder to retain talent in London, Barclays chairman Marcus Agius told City A.M. yesterday. He also said the bank’s “regretted losses” – staff that it has lost despite efforts to prevent them leaving – have risen, adding: “Competition for talent is fierce.” UK banks face a particularly difficult struggle to [...]
Credit Suisse cuts bonuses and dividend February 10, 2011 CREDIT Suisse has cut back on bonuses dramatically, announcing at its full-year results yesterday that 2010 bonus payouts were down 25 per cent per employee compared to last year. The bank also downgraded its all-important return on equity forecast – a key prediction of mid-term profitability – from 18 per cent to 15 per cent, [...]
FTSE shrugs off bank levy tax as it surges to 32-month high February 8, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index jumped higher yesterday, ending at levels not seen since May 2008, supported by rallies from banks and miners, and by gains in energy issues following results from BG Group. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 40.30 points, or 0.7 per cent at 6,091.33, its fifth gain in the [...]
IoD: cut taxes and red tape February 6, 2011 TWO dozen policy changes to encourage growth could be made by the government at no extra cost to taxpayers, the Institute of Directors recommended today. The proposed reforms fall under 10 main areas for the coalition to focus on, the IoD said. The inherent tendency of governments to over-regulate requires a “game changer” in civil [...]
Glaxo sells Quest stake for £1bn February 2, 2011 PHARMA giant GlaxoSmithKline sold its stake in contract research firm Quest Diagnostics for $1.7bn (£1.05bn) yesterday. The sale buoyed hopes the company would restart a share buyback programme to bolster its share price, following the lead of competitors such as AstraZeneca, which is repurchasing $4bn of stock. But the sale also freed up cash for [...]
Autonomy stock soars after record sales and profits February 1, 2011 SOFTWARE specialist Autonomy’s shares gained more than six per cent to close at 1,590p yesterday after it reported record profits and revenues for 2010. Double-digit sales rises for its key servers and cloud computing systems generated an 18 per cent growth in revenue to $870m (£547m), from $740m in 2009. Full-year pre-tax profits of $379m [...]
Tax fines to rise sharply January 31, 2011 OFFSHORE tax evaders will see the penalties they face double under new rules announced by HM Revenue & Customs. HMRC’s decision to raise the penalty from 100 to 200 per cent of the amount evaded from 6 April this year is designed to push offshore money into more transparent and cooperative jurisdictions. The penalty for [...]
THE TIPSTER January 31, 2011 IN JUST under two years the fashion designer Ted Baker has seen its share price more than double. It has also surpassed its 642p high of 2007 to reach a record 673p in December 2010. Since the firm was floated in 1997, earnings have grown by 10 per cent each year, which is always a promising [...]