Nestle ups outlook as business booms in emerging markets August 11, 2010 SWISS food giant Nestle raised its full-year outlook yesterday after buoyant demand for its strong brands in emerging markets boosted sales in the first half. The world’s biggest food group said its food and beverages business should show underlying sales growth of around five per cent. So far the group – whose brands include Nescafe [...]
Unilever CEO raises stake as shares fall August 10, 2010 UNILEVER chief executive Paul Polman has increased his stake in the Anglo-Dutch consumer product firm, taking advantage of a heavy fall in the price of the shares last week. Polman has spent over €900,000 (£748,000) buying Unilever’s Amsterdam-listed shares since Friday, bringing his stake up to 84,471 shares, according to Dutch securities regulator AFM. He [...]
Unilever profit rises but fails to impress August 5, 2010 CONSUMER goods giant Unilever warned of rising pressure from rivals and higher commodity costs yesterday as it missed analysts’ forecasts with a 3.6 per cent rise in second-quarter sales despite strong emerging market growth. Unilever’s caution reflects the message from competitors like Procter & Gamble who have to spend heavily on new products to attract [...]
FTSE ends lower as Barclays leads banking sector retreat August 5, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed down yesterday, with Barclays leading banking shares lower after it posted first-half numbers and downbeat US weekly jobless claims data later in the day only adding to the downward pressure. The FTSE 100 closed down 20.38 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,365.78, having fallen back from a session high of [...]
Top firms in a bid to fill pension gap August 3, 2010 BRITAIN’S top companies doubled the amount they paid into pension schemes in 2009 compared to 2008, according to a report by actuaries Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP). In an attempt to plug gaps in company pension schemes, FTSE 100 firms put £17.5bn into defined benefit schemes in 2009, a rise of 50 per cent on [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 27, 2010 NATIONAL GRID Standard & Poor’s Equity Research (S&P) believes National Grid has delivered a strong operational and financial performance and gives it a “hold” rating. S&P said in the first quarter of 2011, US gas distribution volumes increased by 1.5 per cent and electricity was up 1.3 per cent, but UK gas volumes fell by [...]
Birds Eye will pay €805m to buy Findus ? July 19, 2010 UNILEVER has agreed to sell its Italian frozen foods unit Findus to Birds Eye Iglo, which is owned by private equity group Permira, for €805m (£687.9m). The sale represents the disposal of Unilever’s last remaining frozen foods business in Europe. Unilever said in a statement that about 650 factory and head office staff at Findus, [...]
Unilever sells Findus for €805m July 19, 2010 UNILEVER has agreed to sell its slow-growing Italian frozen foods unit Findus to Birds Eye, which belongs to private equity group Permira for 805m euros (£687.9m). The disposal of Unilever’s last remaining frozen foods business in Europe reunites it with Birds Eye Igloo which the consumer goods giant sold in 2006 for 1.73bn euros. Unilever [...]
Pension trustees wait for court to decide what happens if BT goes bust July 14, 2010 Pension trustees at BT were last night awaiting a High Court ruling over how much of the telecom giant’s liabilities would be guaranteed by the state if it were to collapse. The former state telecoms monopoly was given a guarantee when it was privatised in 1984 that the government would back its pension scheme in [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 11, 2010 WILLIAM HILL Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML) has upgraded William Hill to a “buy” rating and said it believes that the stock is high quality and at good value. Strong trends online and improvement in machines are key catalysts for 2010, according to BoAML, which said that execution risk is believed to be low. [...]