Shawcross in line for charity post August 29, 2012 William Shawcross, the Queen’s official biographer, former journalist and humanitarian, has been named as the preferred candidate to succeed Dame Suzi Leather as boss of the Charity Commission, the Cabinet Office announced yesterday. His candidacy will be assessed on 5 September by the Public Administration Select Committee, who will consider his suitability for the three-year [...]
How to unpick the apparent paradox of falling GDP and rising employment August 21, 2012 THE City always eagerly awaits the latest GDP estimates. These figures dominate the media headlines and huge significance is attached to trivial differences between market expectations and the announced figure, and to subsequent revisions to the data. But GDP is not something that can be put in a set of scales and measured accurately. The [...]
Raymond will lead JPM probe August 20, 2012 FORMER Exxon Mobil boss Lee Raymond is investigating the so-called London Whale derivatives losses that hit JP Morgan earlier this year, the bank said yesterday. The institution hopes a thorough investigation headed by the well respected business leader will at last draw a line under the episode which saw the bank take huge losses on [...]
Cineworld banking on 007 and Batman for second half growth August 16, 2012 CINEWORLD, Britain’s biggest movie theatre group, said it expects performance to pick up in the coming months as blockbusters including the new James Bond film are released. The company posted a modest rise in revenues in the first half of the year to £165m, as a five per cent hike in ticket prices offset a [...]
CLS posts lift in net asset value August 15, 2012 CLS HOLDINGS set the example yesterday on how to profit from the secondary office market, after the property investment company posted strong half-year figures. The family-run firm said net asset value jumped 5.6 per cent to 1,038p a share in the first half of the year despite a fall in profit to £27.1m from £37.1m. [...]
US corporate results round-up August 15, 2012 Abercrombie hit by fall in profit but sales slowdown stabilizes TEEN clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch earned $15.5m, or 19 cents per share, in the second quarter ended 28 July, down from $32m, or 35 cents per share, a year ago. Overall sales rose four per cent to $951.4m. Sales at stores open a year [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs August 14, 2012 Savills Marcus Lemli has been appointed head of the real estate adviser’s German business. He currently leads its European investment operation. He joined Savills earlier this year from Jones Lang La Salle, where he headed its capital markets and leasing businesses. Coutts Keith Wilson has been appointed managing director, head of products and services development [...]
Groupon fails to fulfil hopes August 13, 2012 GROUPON’S share price tumbled 18 per cent in after hours trading last night after it reported worse than expected quarterly revenue growth. Revenue was $568.3m (£362.5m) in the second quarter, up from $392.6m in the same period last year but below forecasts of $573m. The Chicago-based firm posted net income of $28.4m, a big improvement [...]
BEST of the BROKERS August 12, 2012 CINEWORLD Numis rates the cinema group as “add” with a target price of 240p and expects a 10 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £13.6m when it posts half-year results on Thursday, based on a 4.1 per cent boost to box office revenue. HIKMA PHARMACEUTICALS Shore Capital rates the pharma group as a “buy” [...]
Post Office to offer mortgages across its local branch network August 9, 2012 POST Office customers will be able to pick up a mortgage alongside their book of stamps, under a pilot scheme launched yesterday. Trained mortgage advisers are now available in five of the organisation’s outlets – Birmingham, Solihull, Walsall, Luton and Norwich – to offer free consultations as part of the firm’s push to become one [...]