Rio Tinto sticks to spending plans despite profit drop August 8, 2012 Global miner Rio Tinto posted a 34 per cent drop in first-half profit, at the better end of expectations, weighed down by weaker iron ore prices, but said it was sticking to its $16bn (£10.2bn) spending plans for the year. Rio, the world’s second-largest iron ore producer, said underlying earnings fell to $5.2bn, at the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 7, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Tea market strained as output falls The price of tea has jumped to a 2½-year high as poor crops in some of the world’s most important producers strain supplies. Dry conditions, poor rains and frosts have hit tea production in Kenya, the largest exporter of black tea. A bad monsoon has reduced production [...]
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR August 7, 2012 OUR final shortlist for the third annual City A.M. awards is a big one – the Business of the Year. For this category we have looked for strong share price performance aligned to important strategic developments. We have chosen four established companies, along with one rising star in Ophir Energy. Ophir has been one of [...]
Best Buy mulls founder’s offer to take it over August 6, 2012 AMERICAN electronics retailer Best Buy may be taken private after founder and former chairman Richard Schulze made an offer to the company’s board valuing it at up to $9bn (£5.8bn) yesterday. Schulze’s offer to buy the 80 per cent of Best Buy he does not already own sent shares in the retailer up 17 per [...]
Chinese Origo funds dip in value August 6, 2012 Chinese private equity investors Origo Partners, which is listed in London, reported a 4.8 per cent dip in its portfolio values yesterday, falling to $227.7m (£149.5m) over the quarter as waning commodity prices dented its mining investments. The firm, based in Beijing but listed on the Alternative Investment Market, saw a drop in net asset [...]
Next bucks the gloom and sets sights on China July 30, 2012 NEXT is to launch its website in Chinese this autumn as Britain’s second largest clothes retailer steps up its expansion overseas. The company will update the market on its online growth plans alongside its half-year results on Wednesday, with its catalogue and online Directory business again expected to have offset a fall in sales at [...]
High street’s unlikely innovator July 30, 2012 ONCE again it looks like Next will buck the depressing high street trend on Wednesday, as analysts predict a much more rosy set of results from the retailer than we’ve seen from its rivals. The chain’s garish bling-trimmed kit for Team GB may not have been a resounding success, but when it comes to business [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 26, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Universal in talks to hive off Parlophone Universal Music is in talks to sell most of Parlophone, one of the crown jewels of EMI and home to Coldplay and Gorillaz, in an attempt to overcome the concerns of EU regulators reviewing its £1.2bn bid for the British recorded music group. BMG, the music [...]
China have the power to beat USA in Olympic gold rush again July 26, 2012 OLYMPIC fever is upon us at last. With one study suggesting home support can boost a host nation’s medal haul by over 50%, Team GB’s official target of 48 medals, just one more than they claimed in Beijing four years ago, seems conservative. Sporting Index’s spread of 62-64 is more realistic but we shouldn’t get [...]
Swatch revenue soars despite weaker China luxury demand July 24, 2012 BOOMING demand for mid-priced watches in China is more than offsetting a slight cooling at the top end of the market, Swatch Group said yesterday as it stuck to a forecast for record annual sales. The world’s largest watchmaker, whose Omega brand is the official timekeeper for the London Olympics, reported first-half sales up 14 [...]