Meet the man who would be king: a radical dressed in Liberal clothing February 23, 2010 THE Liberal Democrats have never held much sway in the City. Their traditional supporters prefer a sleepy, polite way of life – not the cut and thrust of the Square Mile. If the opinion polls are to be believed, however, Nick Clegg is set to play the role of kingmaker in a hung parliament after [...]
Wolseley set to beat yearly profit target February 23, 2010 SHARES in building supplies group Wolseley today shot up more than 11 per cent after it forecast that profits for the year to 31 July will beat market expectations. The FTSE 100 group, which operates in the UK, US and mainland Europe, says that trading profit before exceptional items will exceed the £326m currently pencilled [...]
Elementis stays positive despite slump in demand February 23, 2010 ELEMENTIS, the British chemicals maker, posted a 62 per cent decline in full year pre-tax profits yesterday following a global slump in demand for its products. But the company maintained its dividend and shares were up more than 11 per cent, with analysts maintaining their “buy” rating on the stock. Brewin Dolphin said: “Elementis’ full-year [...]
Ferrovial seeks new funds February 23, 2010 Debt-laden Spanish infrastructure conglomerate Ferrovial made an unprecedented call for financial investors to join it in new projects yesterday as it seeks to strengthen its balance sheet after a tough 2009. Ferrovial, owner of UK airport operator BAA and tollway firm Cintra as well as construction and service divisions, posted flat growth in core profit [...]
Wolseley raises profit forecast February 23, 2010 SHARES in building supplies group Wolseley today shot up more than 11 per cent after it forecast that profits for the year to 31 July will beat market expectations. The FTSE 100 group, which operates in the UK, US and mainland Europe, says that trading profit before exceptional items will exceed the £326m currently pencilled [...]
Find a new you with a new look February 22, 2010 LAUREN Luke’s life was not going anywhere when she decided to ditch her job as a taxi dispatcher in a town near Newcastle and begin selling makeup on eBay. To accompany the products, she took photos of herself wearing the makeup to show how it could be used. Her buyers started asking more about how [...]
Profits surge at Barclays February 16, 2010 BARCLAYS yesterday lit a firecracker under the UK banking sector as it posted a 92 per cent surge in full-year profits, thanks to a sterling performance in its investment banking division and a one-off windfall from the sale of its asset management arm last year. Pre-tax profit rose to £11.6bn, up from £6.1bn in 2008, [...]
Technical signs point to dollar domination over the euro February 16, 2010 THE latest revelation in the Greek debt saga is that investment banks on Wall Street helped Greece and other southern European economies to move some of their debt off of their balance sheets through the use of securitisation and swaps over the past 15 years. This allowed them to reduce their official budget deficit figures [...]
Volatile foreign exchange markets are back on the agenda for 2010 February 16, 2010 SIX months ago, it seemed that the worst of the global crisis was over. The markets had calmed down, the economic recovery appeared to be firmly on track and traders seemed to have regained their risk appetite. But just as we thought things were on the mend, a sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone coupled [...]
Inflation hits 14-month high of 3.5pc February 16, 2010 BRITAIN’S inflation rate jumped to a 14-month high of 3.5 per cent in January. The increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will mean Bank of England Governor Mervyn King will have to write a letter of explanation to the Chancellor detailing why inflation has risen more than one percentage point above the 2 per [...]