GM profit beats forecasts May 5, 2011 General Motors posted stronger-than-expected quarterly profit, driven by a recovery in the US market and strong sales in Asia. Quarterly net profit more than tripled from a year ago and its operating profit narrowly beat expectations. Even though total sales rose 15 per cent to $36.2bn (£22bn) against analyst expectations of $35.6bn, “all of this [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESSES FEAR £90BN HIT IN COSTS BOOMERANG The UK’s main quoted companies fear that £90bn of annual costs will return to their books as they recover, washing away savings made during the recession and squeezing profit margins, according to a survey by a leading accountancy firm. Businesses believe that 95 per cent of [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 2, 2011 Brookland Partners The investment bank has appointed Griff Winkler as a director, where he will focus on expanding the firm through identifying investment opportunities from capital providers and other JV partners. Winkler joins from Hatfield Philips, where he was vice president of the non-performing commercial real estate loan group. He also brings five years of [...]
McDonald’s profit up – but costs rise April 21, 2011 McDonald’s reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as the world’s largest restaurant company posted March sales that topped analyst expectations. But the company’s profit margin took a hit because of rising food and paper costs, and it increased its inflation forecasts. It said it now expects food costs to rise between 4 and 4.5 per cent [...]
Goldman results limit market gains April 19, 2011 ENCOURAGING results from health care and materials companies lifted US stocks yesterday, but weak earnings from Goldman Sachs limited gains in a market skeptical of the growth outlook. Investors were reluctant to make big bets as the market readied for a spate of high-profile earnings. Volume was extremely low, with 6.56bn shares traded on the [...]
BoA earnings down as new chief named April 15, 2011 Bank of America Corp posted a 37.5 per cent decline in first-quarter earnings and named a new chief financial officer. The largest US bank reported net income of $2bn (£1.2bn), or 17 cents per share, compared with $3.2bn, or 28 cents per share ,in the same quarter a year ago. Analysts on average had forecast [...]
Google cost surge sees investors flee April 14, 2011 GOOGLE posted a 15 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to $2.89bn (£1.76bn) in its first-quarter results last night, but investor panic over a 34 per cent surge in costs saw its shares dive by 5.4 per cent in after-hours trading. Costs ballooned to $5.78bn, with sales and marketing spending rising 69 per cent to [...]
FTSE falls with investors still cautious ahead of US results April 14, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday, led by Reckitt Benckiser after the company said its chief executive was retiring, and with banks weaker on renewed worries about sovereign debt levels. The FTSE 100 fell 46.64 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 5,963.80, its lowest close since 31 March. The index is up 1.1 per cent [...]
ITV CREWS CATCH BANKERS ON CAMERA FOR NEW LEGAL DRAMA April 11, 2011 LUNCHBREAKS for the employees of Bank of New York Mellon Asset Management will never be the same again, after ITV rolled into the firm’s neighbourhood last Thursday to film its new legal drama The Jury. The ITV camera crews have been filming on location just a stone’s throw from BNY Mellon’s Queen Victoria Street HQ [...]
Hays UK dip offset by overseas boost April 7, 2011 RECRUITMENT group Hays yesterday posted a 16 per cent jump in net fees, led by its strong international business, and said its outlook was positive in nearly all markets outside of the struggling UK public sector. Hays, which specialises in placing office workers such as accountants and secretaries, said it had seen excellent growth in [...]