Sales growth eases at Nestle as demand cools in Asian markets October 18, 2012 NESTLE’S sales growth slowed more than expected in the first nine months of the year as demand cooled in the emerging markets driving the world’s biggest food company. Underlying sales growth at the maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Maggi soup slowed to 6.1 per cent from 6.6 per cent in the first half. Growth [...]
European slowdown hits Danone October 17, 2012 French food group Danone said growth slowed sharply at its dairy division as shoppers in Italy and Spain switched to cheaper alternatives in recession conditions unlikely to ease into next year. Kicking off the third-quarter reporting season yesterday ahead of large food makers like Nestle and Unilever, the world’s largest yoghurt maker, whose brands include [...]
Open House unlocks London’s hidden gems September 20, 2012 The Gherkin 30 St Mary Axe, EC3A 8EP; Sunday 9am-5pm Sir Norman Foster’s spectacular 40-storey office building has become a landmark of the London skyline. Built in the heart of the financial district, it has 360-degree views across the city. Every 10 minutes, groups of 30 people will be shown around this magnificent building. Heron [...]
Miners and financials fall on the FTSE 100 September 18, 2012 The blue chip index sank in early trading, as headline mining and financial shares pulled it down. Electrical connections provider Volex was down by more than 30 per cent in early trading as it announced it expects full-year profit and revenue to fall short of expectations. Miners Ferrexpo and Eurasian fell by 4.68 per cent [...]
Best of the Brokers September 17, 2012 RBS Investec has cut the bank from “hold” to “sell” with a price target of 245p. The broker believes RBS’s return on equity is too weak to prop up its current share price. ADMIRAL Espirito Santo has lowered its rating to “sell” with a fair value price of 900p. The broker thinks the insurer is [...]
Advisers Rob Ritchie September 12, 2012 GOLDMAN SACHS FOR its $2bn bond issue, AstraZeneca appointed four leading Wall Street firms to underwrite the deal and help bring the bonds to the market: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, HSBC Securities and JP Morgan Securities. Leading for Goldman Sachs on the offering was its head of European debt capital markets Rob Ritchie. Ritchie has [...]
FTSE dwindles as defensive stocks drop ahead of Fed and euro news September 10, 2012 BRITISH blue chip shares dipped yesterday as weakness in defensive stocks outweighed strength in risk-sensitive cyclicals, such as miners, and investors positioned for more newsflow out of Europe and the United States. The FTSE 100 closed down 1.60 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 5,793.20, with the index yo-yoing in a tight range around the [...]
Rapid Responses August 14, 2012 Defending UK aid [Re: British aid policy is harming those it seeks to rescue, yesterday] Alan Oxley clearly has precious little grasp of British government aid policies. Far from ignoring innovation, as he asserts, last weekend’s hunger summit called for new and innovative ideas to tackle chronic hunger. We work closely with private companies like [...]
Workers should not be spending 650 hours a year on email July 30, 2012 IT seems that we finally have an answer to why productivity is falling in Britain – and no, it has nothing to do with the fact that so many of us are spending so much time watching the Olympics. The problem is much more prosaic and far more devastating: we are spending so much time [...]
Unilever defies gloom with strong growth July 26, 2012 STRONG emerging markets helped consumer goods giant Unilever avoid issuing similar profit warnings to two of its main rivals yesterday, although it did warn of tougher times ahead due to difficult economies and volatile input costs. The maker of brands such as Dove and Knorr is facing tough trading in southern Europe and is seeing [...]