FTSE edges up but Eurozone gloom continues May 24, 2012 The FTSE 100 staged a tentative recovery in early trading although an inconclusive meeting of Eurozone leaders offered little prospect of a plan to save Greece. Overnight the EU said it wanted Greece to stay in the fold but contingency plans are already underway for an exit from the euro for the debt laden country. [...]
Shaftesbury profits rise as West End sites fend off retail gloom May 23, 2012 THE PROSPEROUS West End continued to shelter Shaftesbury from the wider gloom in the retail sector as the London property firm posted a 15 per cent jump in first half profits. The company, which owns 500 properties across London’s key tourist hotspots including Carnaby Street and China Town reported a pre-tax profit of £16.1m in [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 23, 2012 Freshfields Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the law firm, has appointed Silvia Paternain as head of its global tax practice. She succeeds Colin Hargreaves, who is returning to focus on client work full time. Paternain joined the firm in 1998 and was elected to the partnership in 2004. She specialises in corporate cross-border transactions. Sirius Minerals The [...]
Ocado sales growth accelerates May 23, 2012 Online British supermarket Ocado posted an acceleration in sales growth in its second quarter, raising hopes it has got to grips with bottlenecks at its distribution centre that led to a string of profit downgrades last year. Shares in Ocado, whose range includes products supplied by upmarket grocer Waitrose jumped 6.8 per cent on Wednesday [...]
FTSE down amid Eurozone gloom May 23, 2012 Miners led the FTSE down in early trading as a two-session rally hit the buffers. Fears that Eurozone leaders have lost control of the bloc’s fast unravelling finances sapped investor confidence. A summit in Brussels today will thrash out possible ways to tackle the latest phase of the crisis including France’s idea for the issuing [...]
Burberry profit jumps by a quarter May 23, 2012 British luxury brand Burberry posted a 26 per cent jump in profit as expected and said it would invest up to £200m in new outlets and expanding existing stores in London, Chicago and Hong Kong. The 156-year-old seller of raincoats and leather goods, known for its camel, red and black check pattern, said on Wednesday [...]
M&S profit falls May 22, 2012 Marks & Spencer posted a 1.2 per cent fall in full-year underlying profit, its first decline in three years, as even its relatively older and more affluent customers were touched by the economic downturn. Britain’s biggest clothing retailer, which also sells homewares and upmarket foods, said on Tuesday it made a profit before tax and [...]
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 [...]
StanChart: UK encouraging shift of money to Asia by goldplating May 20, 2012 THE HEAD of Standard Chartered’s European bank has warned that the UK is accelerating the shift of economic power from west to east by goldplating bank regulations. Richard Holmes, head of StanChart’s European business, told City A.M. that Britain’s approach could cause a “creep” of investment away from London. “What’s going on here is forcing [...]
Manduca in line for chairman’s role at the Pru May 20, 2012 PAUL MANDUCA, one of the City’s best-known fund managers, is set to become the new chairman of Prudential, putting an end to a five-month search for Harvey McGrath’s successor. Manduca, 60, joined the board of Prudential, the UK’s biggest life assurer, as a senior independent director in October 2010 and has been overseeing the search [...]