Corporate results worries sink stocks February 6, 2012 US stocks closed slightly lower yesterday as lingering questions about Europe’s debt crisis and corporate earnings overshadowed growing optimism about economic growth after a five-week rally. The S&P has risen about seven per cent so far this year, helped by a slew of better-than-expected US economic data, which was capped by Friday’s solid jobs report. [...]
Caterer Compass gets a boost from US business February 2, 2012 COMPASS Group, the world’s biggest caterer, said yesterday first-quarter sales rose more than eight per cent, as continued strength in North America and emerging markets offset weakness in Europe, putting it on track to achieve its full-year outlook. “We have seen good levels of new business wins and the improved level of retention we achieved [...]
Facebook unveils float of the year February 1, 2012 FACEBOOK has taken the first official step to becoming a publicly traded company, filing papers yesterday that outline plans to raise $5bn in what could be the biggest float this year. Silicon Valley’s most anticipated flotation will see Facebook represented by ticker symbol FB, although the company did not specify whether it would list on [...]
Ocado sales growth picks up January 31, 2012 Online grocer Ocado posted a 27 per cent rise in underlying earnings, forecast first-quarter sales growth of about 10 per cent and said the rate of growth should improve as the year progresses and capacity improves. The group said Tuesday it made earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £27.9m in the year [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 29, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES DEUTSCHE BANK TARGETS FORCED SALES OF HEDGE FUNDS’ PROBLEM ASSETS Deutsche Bank is preparing to launch a fund to snap up investors’ illiquid or damaged holdings in hedge funds that have failed to recover since the financial crisis. The bank estimates that, three years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, investors are sitting [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 24, 2012 Liberum Capital Mark Godridge has joined the investment bank as chief executive of its US subsidiary Liberum Capital Inc. He joins from JP Morgan Cazenove, where he has led the European and emerging market sales team since the merger of the two companies in 2010. In the five years preceding the buyout, Godridge was president [...]
Only drastic change can save RIM now January 23, 2012 FEW in the telecoms industry will mourn the departure of Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis. As co-chairmen and co-CEOs of BlackBerry maker RIM, the pair wielded far too much power over the troubled handset maker. It was an open secret that the chief executives of the big network operators found it incredibly hard to do [...]
Law firms jump the fences in a quest for capital January 19, 2012 EARLIER this week, law firm Irwin Mitchell hired Glyn Barker as its chairman designate. Barker, a 30-year veteran of PwC, built the accountancy giant’s private equity practice and was its vice chairman until the end of last month. In the corporate world, cross-hiring between industries is common – take Chris Grigg’s sideways jump from Barclays [...]
CANDY BROTHERS SEEK ENLIGHTENMENT WITH SERENE NEW TENANTS January 19, 2012 THE BEST things come to those who wait – and this week the Candy brothers have finally revealed two new tenants for their One Hyde Park development. About time for the block of super-apartments that has secured just three full-time residents one year after launch. Except – unfortunately for the Knightsbridge complex that has been [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES TWO BANKS IN DANGER AS DEADLINE APPROACHES European regulators are convinced that two of the continent’s banks will fail to produce credible plans to plug capital deficits by Friday’s deadline, exposing both to the risk of full or partial nationalisation. Officials said that it looked “almost inevitable” that a fresh injection of state [...]