FTSE rises after upbeat Wolseley results outweigh bank dips and debt worries March 29, 2011 THE FTSE 100 rose moderately in light trade yesterday with support from miners and upbeat results from Wolseley outpacing falls in banks on European debt worries. The FTSE 100 climbed 27.68 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,932.17. The index regained more than 3 per cent the previous week following losses sparked by the earthquake [...]
Porridge helps Pret a Manger stay hot March 29, 2011 Sandwich chain Pret a Manger has said sales of hot food such as porridge were helping it to thrive in tough consumer environment as it posted a 37 per cent rise in its 2010 core earnings. The chain, majority owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint , said it planned to open more than 30 shops [...]
Boris agrees to riot summit after protests March 28, 2011 THE MAYOR of London Boris Johnson (pictured) is to hold a summit for retailers and businesses affected by the violence at Saturday’s anti-cuts protests. Johnson said in a letter to the New West End Company yesterday that he and the Metropolitan Police “want to continue… dialogue and see what lessons can be learned”. Retailers including [...]
EasyJet in VisitBritain deal March 28, 2011 BUDGET airline easyJet has launched an £18m licensing deal with VisitBritain to promote tourism into the UK over the Royal Wedding, the 2012 London Olympics and beyond. The four-year deal will see the government pay the airline £9m to bring in foreign passengers to the UK. EasyJet will provide the rest of the funding in [...]
Bullish brokers boost banks as energy and mining stocks sag March 28, 2011 BULLISH broker comment helped push the banking sector higher yesterday, as Britain’s top share index neared key technical resistance levels after its recent rally, with commodity stocks weighing on the upside. The FTSE 100 closed 3.73 points, or 0.1 per cent, higher at 5,904.49, near its 50-day moving average of 5,933.83. The index has traded [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES HOLLYWOOD MAKEOVER FOR YOUTUBE Google is deepening its ties with Hollywood by enlisting top stars to supply original content for YouTube in a bid to boost profits and user engagement at the company’s online video site. Google has been making the rounds of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies, outlining plans to create a network [...]
Songbird profit fuelled by Lehman sale March 25, 2011 SONGBIRD, the company which own large chunks of Canary Wharf, has reported a sharp rise in annual profits. The lift was fuelled in part by the sale of the old Lehman Brothers building to JP Morgan. Songbird Estates posted pre-tax profits for 2010 of £463.8m – a rise of 39 per cent on the £334.6m [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 24, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BARCLAYS AT CENTRE OF LIBOR INQUIRY Barclays is emerging as a key focus of the US and UK regulatory probe into alleged rigging of benchmark interbank lending rates that are the reference point for $350,000bn in financial products, people familiar with the investigation said. Investigators are probing whether communications between the bank’s traders [...]
Retailers and mining stocks power rebound in the FTSE March 24, 2011 RETAILERS were among the top performers in a rally in Britain’s top share index yesterday that took the FTSE 100 back to levels last seen just before the earthquake in Japan. Results from Kingfisher and Next showed how some retailers can overcome tough trading conditions in the UK. Kingfisher, which hiked its dividend and reported [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 23, 2011 Mayer Brown The City law firm has boosted its asset finance team with the hire of former Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe European managing partner Stuart McAlpine. McAlpine focuses on cross-border asset and project finance transactions in the shipping, offshore and energy sectors. At Orrick, he spent time in the firm’s Singapore, London and Paris offices. [...]