Tokyo is vast, fast and very interesting May 27, 2012 IT was about 7AM and the sun from my windows was beginning to wake me up. With my room on the 35th floor of a tower in the business district of Tokyo, the view of the endless city was so intense that drawing my curtains – even while I slept – seemed a waste. I [...]
Mothercare to slash prices to boost UK sales May 24, 2012 MOTHERCARE revealed the details of an ambitious three-year plan aimed at reviving its struggling UK business yesterday, as the baby products retailer slumped to a £103m loss. Shares rose more than 23 per cent after Simon Calver, who joined in April from online movie rental firm Lovefilm, pledged to be “ruthless” on costs and bring [...]
Mike Lynch to leave HP amid 27,000 job cuts May 23, 2012 HEWLETT-Packard yesterday unveiled a restructure which will see Autonomy founder Mike Lynch leave the company and 27,000 employees lose their jobs. British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, dubbed the British Bill Gates, is a founder of tech company Autonomy, which was bought by HP in August for £6.2bn. At the time it was the UK’s most valuable [...]
Eurozone fear hammers FTSE May 23, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares fell sharply yesterday, wiping out their gains from the start of the week on mounting fears Greece will leave the Eurozone. The FTSE 100 slid 2.5 per cent to 5,266.41, its biggest one-day percentage drop since 21 November and its lowest close since 25 November, when markets were similarly beset with worries [...]
British Land’s asset value up as retail drags May 21, 2012 BRITISH LAND said yesterday there was little rise in its net asset value in the fourth quarter of the year after weak consumer sentiment caused the value of its retail portfolio to drop. The UK’s second largest property company posted a net asset value of 595p, up from 593p in the three months to 31 [...]
Borrows set to tighten belts at troubled 3i May 17, 2012 PRIVATE equity house 3i is expected to shake-up its global operations after naming veteran banker Simon Borrows as its new chief executive and posting a heavy loss. Borrows, who replaced Michael Queen yesterday after answering calls from some of the group’s larger shareholders to go for the top job, will cut costs as he tries [...]
Strong US trading lifts Compass Group to first half rise in profits May 16, 2012 COMPASS Group, the world’s biggest caterer, posted a 7.7 per cent rise in first half profit yesterday, as strong trading in North America and emerging markets helped dampen the impact of challenging economic conditions in Europe. The group, which provides meals for the likes of office workers, soldiers and school children, said underlying pre-tax profit [...]
US corporate results round-up May 16, 2012 Deere & Co ups oulook DEERE & Co posted higher quarterly earnings and sales that topped estimates, and raised its full-year profit outlook yesterday on rising global demand for farm equipment. The US farm sector is booming on higher worldwide food demand and as biofuels help drive up crop production. Companies like Deere are benefiting [...]
WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 16, 2012 Brooks Macdonald The private client investment manager has announced the appointment of Justin Woolf to its intermediary sales team. He joins as an intermediary sales manager from Zurich Intermediary Group, where he was a senior broker consultant. Woolf has over 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Thomas Miller Investment The investment management firm [...]
Car trade in first surplus since 1976 May 15, 2012 BRITAIN has posted its first quarterly trade surplus in cars since 1976 after cashing in on rising foreign demand for vehicles made in the UK. The value of car exports hit £6.1bn in the first quarter of the year, £561m ahead of the value of imports and up 20 per cent on the final three [...]