Kering’s Gucci posts weakest revenue growth for four years October 24, 2013 GUCCI, one of the world’s biggest luxury brands in terms of sales, yesterday posted its weakest growth in four years with a 0.6 per cent rise in like-for-like revenue in the third quarter. Gucci, which accounts for more than half of the valuation of parent Kering, has been hit like arch-rival LVMH’s Louis Vuitton by [...]
AT&T delivers as $3.8bn profit beats forecasts October 23, 2013 THE SECOND largest US mobile service provider posted its results for the third quarter after trading finished yesterday, with profits of $3.81bn (£2.36bn) revealed. AT&T’s earnings per share excluding significant items were slightly above expectations, at $0.66 against the $0.65 that was predicted. In the same quarter of 2012, the comparable figure was $0.63 per [...]
Evercore bullish as sees strong third quarter October 23, 2013 INVESTMENT bank advisory firm Evercore posted their third quarter results last night, with revenues up 23 per cent on the comparable period during 2012. The company announced net revenues of $188m (£116.23m), and profit of $14m, up 163 per cent over the 12-months to September. However, profit was down 15 per cent compared to the [...]
APR Energy to buy GE rental unit for £194m October 23, 2013 TEMPORARY power provider APR Energy yesterday said it has agreed to buy General Electric’s power rental business for $314m (£194m), in a deal which its chief executive called “transformational” for the company. John Campion told City A.M. that the acquisition of GE Power & Water in Houston, which rents mobile gas turbines to provide temporary [...]
Major’s windfall tax idea is as silly as Miliband’s energy price cap October 22, 2013 EVERY so often, when I get depressed about the state of contemporary British politics, I begin to recall with something close to fondness Sir John Major’s time as prime minister from 1990 to 1997. These days, others have also started to make the same mistake, perhaps unsurprisingly. Much of Major’s 1997 election manifesto was lucid [...]
A slick way to get onto Wall Street October 22, 2013 MYTHS may have it that the streets of London are paved with gold, but the pavements in Midtown Manhattan were coated with something almost as lucrative yesterday after a truck spilled around 200 gallons of oil during the morning rush hour. Traders more used to spending their days tracking the price of Brent crude were [...]
Heathrow hits out at regulator as profits soar October 21, 2013 HEATHROW warned yesterday that its investors are not prepared to put in “a penny more” to improve the airport unless the regulator allows them to generate a better rate of return. The airport, which yesterday posted a 22 per cent rise in profits, is furious at the Civil Aviation Authority’s move to cap any rises [...]
Five apps to keep the mind on track October 21, 2013 Focus Time £2.99 Focus Time is simple. Choose a task to complete, start a timer and work until it goes off. Take a short break, then start the process again. With short 25 minute bursts of attention, that To Do list will be ticked off in no time. Clear £2.99 Speaking of To Do lists, [...]
Grafton keen on further growth after switching Irish roots for UK listing October 20, 2013 Gavin Slark, boss of the builders’ merchant, tells Kasmira Jefford what’s next for his company WHEN Gavin Slark was handed the toolbox and made chief executive of the Irish-based builders merchant two years ago, Grafton was in dire need of repairs. The global financial crisis had all but flattened the UK and Ireland’s construction market [...]
London Report: BSkyB drives up FTSE for a sixth consecutive day October 17, 2013 BRITAIN’S top share index ended higher yesterday, helped by a surge in media group BSkyB, although investors were underwhelmed by a temporary fix to the United States’ debt issues. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up by 0.1 per cent, or 4.57 points, at 6,576.16 points to mark its sixth straight session of gains. BSkyB [...]