Pru chairman fights to woo City investors June 21, 2010 PRUDENTIAL chairman Harvey McGrath faces a testing encounter with Henderson Global Investors this week as he tries to save his job following the failed bid for AIA in Asia. McGrath, who has spent the past fortnight speaking to shareholders after the $35.5bn (£24bn) takeover of AIG’s Far Eastern arm collapsed, is due to visit four [...]
Sainsbury’s supermarket to shuffle top jobs June 21, 2010 J SAINSBURY became the latest supermarket to shuffle its management team yesterday, in an attempt to cement its plans for long-term growth. The UK’s third-biggest grocer has promoted chief financial officer Darren Shapland to the post of group development director, overseeing business development and group strategy. Mike Coupe, currently trading director, will become the group’s [...]
Kewill profits buoyed by cost cuts June 21, 2010 Software firm Kewill posted an 80 per cent increase in full-year pre-tax profit, helped by cost controls and revenue growth in Europe, but said it expected tough economic conditions to continue in the short term. Kewill, which received an approach pitched at 130p per share in May, said talks were continuing. However, chief financial officer [...]
The bike and car parts retailer who wants to own Britain on the move June 20, 2010 Halfords and its chief executive David Wild are having a good recession. Earlier this month, the bikes and car maintenance retail chain posted a strong set of full-year figures: pre-tax profits rose 42 per cent to £110m, while sales rose three per cent to £832m. The FTSE 250 business said the trend for healthy living [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UGANDA TAX ROW DELAYS HERITAGE SALE OF OIL FIELD Uganda is insisting that Heritage Oil, the UK-listed oil explorer, must agree to pay $360m (£243m) in capital gains tax on the “super profits” it will make on a $1.35bn oilfields sale before it will sanction the deal. Uganda’s energy minister said the government [...]
Accountants are vital for boosting economies right across the world June 16, 2010 IT’S clear we are living in unprecedented economic times. Indicators from various sources – including the latest quarterly survey of ACCA members, the largest of its kind in the world – suggest “cautious optimism”, and no more, is appropriate. In 2010, the financial services sector continues to dominate all levels of debate, from its willingness [...]
Higher costs set to crimp FedEx profits next year June 16, 2010 FEDEX reported a quarterly profit yesterday that beat analyst expectations, but said costs would constrain its 2011 earnings. The company projected 2011 earnings per share in the range of $4.40 (£2.97) to $5.00. “We expect the growth in earnings in fiscal 2011 to be constrained,” chief financial officer Alan Graf Jr said, citing increases in [...]
China’s AgBank poised to raise over £15bn in IPO June 14, 2010 THE Agricultural Bank of China is seeking to raise over $23bn (£15.6bn) by listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, in what would be the world’s biggest IPO. The public share issue by AgBank, founded by Mao Zedong in the 1950s as the central bank’s rural arm, had previously been touted as high as $30bn, but [...]
Centrica looks hard at its nuclear option June 13, 2010 CENTRICA’S finance director Nick Luff is busy trying to work out if the new coalition energy secretary Chris Huhne is a man the country’s largest gas and electricity supplier can do business with. Huhne – a Liberal Democrat – had previously described nuclear power as a “failed technology.” But that was before he scented the [...]
Manufacturing output in surprise drop June 11, 2010 Manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in April, official data has shown – suggesting Britain’s recovering economy got off to a slow start in the second quarter. Figures from the Office for National Statistics also showed producer input costs eased less than expected in May, although factory gate inflation slowed slightly more than expected. The ONS said [...]