Capital & Counties gets cash to help it expand Covent Garden September 19, 2012 PROPERTY group Capital & Counties (Capco) yesterday raised £149.1m to help fund its ambitious plans for Covent Garden. The firm placed 68.4m shares at 218p per share, or a 1.1 per cent discount to Tuesday’s closing price. Capco said the funds will be used to help fund its £200m plans to snap up more properties [...]
Webb admits pension reform will hit employee pay packets September 19, 2012 THE cost of rules that will force firms to enrol their employees in pensions schemes is likely to hit wages or be passed on to consumers through price hikes, Steve Webb admitted today. Firms have told the pensions secretary that they will reduce pay and other benefits, increase prices or cut dividends to cover the [...]
Dulux boss is off with stress September 18, 2012 TON Buchner, the chief executive of Dulux maker Akzo Nobel, is taking a leave of absence for several weeks due to fatigue. Buchner, who has been in post since April, will return to work in the first half of October. Chief financial officer Keith Nichols will run the Dutch firm temporarily.
Laura Ashley plots expansion in China as online sales surge 21pc September 12, 2012 LAURA Ashley yesterday posted a 13.7 per cent increase in pre-tax profit, bucking the negative trend on the UK high street, as it eyes up expansion in China. UK like-for-like sales growth in the company’s 211 stores was 3.9 per cent over the half year to 28 July, while total retail sales were up 6.1 [...]
We need chutzpah as well as cuts to restore British competitiveness September 12, 2012 WITH unemployment falling over the last six months, and over 1m private sector jobs created under the coalition, it is not all bad news on the economy. There is no reason for Britons to be defeatist. We’re still in a rut, but there is a way out. The key thing is not to sacrifice long-term [...]
Japan Airlines raises $8.5bn in top Asian float September 10, 2012 JAPAN Airlines, the carrier nationalised by the Japanese government in 2010, yesterday secured top price for its initial public offering, making it the second biggest float of the year after Facebook. The offering, which was six times oversubscribed by investors, was priced at ¥3,790 (£30.24), the upper limit of a range between ¥3,500 and ¥3,790. [...]
FTSE 100 opens flat as investors bide time September 10, 2012 The leading share index opened modestly lower this morning, as investors were cautious ahead of key Eurozone and US Federal Reserve meetings this week. A selection of miners and retailers led the index up. Specialist engineering company Lamprell added nearly five per cent in early deals on news that it signed a joint venture deal [...]
A nice rally while it lasted: Wall St analysts call the top of the market September 9, 2012 AT the start of the historically weakest month for equities there are plenty of reasons to believe stocks may be just about reaching a top – at least in the short term. The S&P 500 has surged 14 per cent this year and is at its highest level in more than four years. Not counting [...]
Obama isn’t working: He won’t win without a stronger message on jobs September 5, 2012 AS BARACK Obama pinned his electoral hopes on Bill Clinton’s rhetorical prowess at the Democratic convention last night, Mitt Romney is channelling Ronald Reagan by asking voters: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” It’s certainly throwback week on the campaign trail. But, with two landslide victories, Reagan may provide Romney [...]
Jenkins set to cut bad products September 2, 2012 BARCLAYS could look to cut unprofitable business lines in its investment banking and other arms under a structural review planned by new boss Antony Jenkins. The incoming chief executive has pledged to keep the investment bank intact and said he values the universal banking model. But his background in commercial and retail banking means some [...]