Pearson hikes profit outlook for 2010 again January 19, 2011 PEARSON continued its blistering run of form yesterday, raising its 2010 profit forecast for the second time in three months. The group, which owns Penguin and the Financial Times, said it now expected to report operating profit for 2010 of around £850m, an increase of around 20 per cent. The firm says its improved outlook [...]
Nintendo shows off new 3DS January 19, 2011 NINTENDO yesterday announced it will release its much anticipated 3DS in Europe on March 25. The handheld console will feature one 3D screen and one touch-screen, as well as a motion sensor, a gyro sensor and the ability to take 3D photographs. It will also allow users to download games from a platform similar to [...]
Speakeasy cocktails come to Chinatown January 19, 2011 WHILE the new year has already seen a fresh batch of new London openings, one of the most original happened just before Christmas with the small but extremely endearing Parisian import, the Experimental Cocktail Club (www.chinatownecc.com). Touching down in Chinatown, an unusual destination address for discerning cocktail aficionados, ECC is nestled innocuously amongst the dim [...]
Apple soars over forecasts to $6bn quarterly profit January 19, 2011 Apple delivered a record quarterly $6bn (£3.8bn) net profit for the three months to Christmas after trading in the US closed last night. The maker of iPhones, iPads and mac computers generated its highest-ever revenues of $26.74bn and earnings per share of $6.43, nearly double the $3.67 generated in the same quarter a year earlier. [...]
Asos sales beat forecasts January 19, 2011 British online fashion retailer ASOS forecast year profit in line with market expectations after sales growth accelerated in its third quarter. ASOS, which targets internet-savvy 16 to 34 year old women looking to emulate the designer looks of celebrities like Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Alexa Chung but at a fraction of the price, said [...]
Wetherspoon sales growth accelerates January 19, 2011 JD Wetherspoon has reported accelerating sales growth in the second quarter of its fiscal year and said it was confident of a reasonable performance in 2011. The pub operator, which has nearly 800 premises across Britain, said sales at pubs open more than a year rose by three per cent in the 12 weeks to [...]
HMV supplies hit by credit insurance cut January 18, 2011 TROUBLED music retailer HMV came under further fire yesterday after suppliers revealed that its credit insurers were drastically cutting the amount of sales they would insure. An internal memo from Sony showed that its credit insurers had withdrawn all cover for new sales to HMV after a meeting with HMV chief executive Simon Fox had [...]
Relief for Apple as sales soar January 18, 2011 APPLE beat expectations with its quarterly results yesterday, buoyed by strong Christmas figures that saw the company sell 7.3m iPads, 16.2m iPhones and 19.5m iPods during the period. Analysts had expected earnings per share (EPS) of $3.95 versus an actual EPS of $4.64. Revenues were $26.7bn (£16.7bn) compared with a consensus forecast of $24bn. Apple executives will [...]
Angry Spurs fans planning to step up Olympic protest January 18, 2011 TOTTENHAM supporters are planning sit-in protests if the club presses ahead with controversial plans to leave their home of 112 years and move five miles across London to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford. Aggrieved fans desperate for Spurs to stay in their home borough say they are also considering boycotting games, as they and West [...]
Iron boosts Rio Tinto but coal suffers January 18, 2011 GLOBAL miner Rio Tinto posted a six per cent rise in iron ore production in the fourth quarter, powered by Chinese demand, but said coal production suffered after flood-related disruptions in Australia. Rio Tinto said in a production report yesterday that it produced 50.05m tonnes of iron ore in the fourth quarter versus 47.23m a [...]