BAT struggles as cigarette demand falls April 28, 2010 BRITISH American Tobacco reported a four per cent fall in underlying first quarter volumes yesterday as fewer customers bought cigarettes. The London-based group, which makes Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, said its consumers were finding economic conditions difficult and volumes suffered as a result of the decline in some markets. Overall volumes [...]
In such skilled hands, intrigue in Stalinist Russia cannot fail to grip April 28, 2010 THE BETRAYAL BY HELEN DUNMORE Fig Tree, £18.99 Dunmore is one of the literary establishment’s most respected practitioners: she’s a poet and an Orange Prize short-listed author. Her work isn’t light reading, but fans call it some of the most rewarding on the shelves today. Following on from The Siege (short-listed for the Orange Prize [...]
BAT sees volumes fall but sales hold up April 28, 2010 BRITISH American Tobacco, the world’s No 2 cigarette maker, reported a four per cent fall in underlying first-quarter volumes but said price rises led to good sales growth and it remains on track for 2010. The London-based group, which makes Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, said that its consumers were finding economic [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 26, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES FISHMEAL PRICES SCALE ALL-TIME HIGH The price of fishmeal, the key feedstuff for salmon and shrimp aquaculture, has surged to an all-time high after an earthquake wiped out processing plants in Chile, the world’s second-biggest exporter of the commodity, this year. The blow comes as the industry is already battling a supply squeeze [...]
DID YOU EXPECT UK COAL TO RECORD SUCH POOR END OF YEAR RESULTS? April 26, 2010 CHARLIE GIBSON | EDISON There’s no shock in this set of results. The company was hurt by low coal prices and output problems at a couple of their mines. I think it’s a good decision to sell their agricultural estate as coal and property do not sit in the same vehicle and at the moment [...]
BACON TOP OF THE CROP OF RICH LIST HEDGIES April 22, 2010 IT’S been rich pickings indeed for the hedge fund community this year, if leaked information from the Sunday Times Rich List’s rundown of the wealthiest hedgies in town is anything to go by. Apart from two individuals whose wealth has stayed the same over the past year (Nat Rothschild at Atticus and Steven Heinz at [...]
Heineken in beer sales slump April 21, 2010 HEINEKEN’S beer sales fell more than expected in the first quarter as western consumers drank less, underlining the group’s increasing reliance for growth on sales in emerging markets in Africa and Asia. Its shares fell more than 2.5 per cent to their lowest in eight weeks. The Dutch-based company, whose chief brands are Heineken and [...]
Ladbrokes is boosted by an £80m tax repayment April 21, 2010 HEINEKEN’S beer sales fell more than expected in the first quarter as western consumers drank less, underlining the group’s increasing reliance for growth on sales in emerging markets in Africa and Asia. Its shares fell more than 2.5 per cent to their lowest in eight weeks. The Dutch-based company, whose chief brands are Heineken and [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 21, 2010 Royal London Asset Management The asset management firm has promoted Ian Goulsbra to the role of head of wholesale relationships, effective immediately Goulsbra joined RLAM in 2007 as a business development manager for the south of England. He was previously at Premier Asset Management, where he was head of institutional sales, and also spent time [...]
TUI seeks to raise £500m for warchest April 20, 2010 TUI Travel, Europe’s biggest travel firm, says it plans to raise £500m in new financing to fund acquisitions. The company behind Thomson and First Choice has taken a hit of £26m as a result of the subsequent disruption caused by the volcanic ash. But the group remains bullish and said yesterday the fund-raising would ensure [...]