Mothercare battles with poor UK sales November 17, 2011 MOTHERCARE chairman Alan Parker marked his first 100 days in office by announcing an overhaul of the baby products retailer after it revealed an £81.4m half-year loss. Shares in the FTSE 250 firm plummeted by 17.87 per cent yesterday to 127.3p after the group posted an underlying pre-tax loss, before exceptional costs, of £4.4m for [...]
Glad rags for partying in style November 17, 2011 CHRISTMAS party season and all its fashion opportunities, work-sanctioned bouts of alcohol consumption, and colleagues letting their hair down, is on hand. Whether all this is a cause for celebration or dread, one thing you can be sure of is that looking like a festive fashionista will only improve matters. Even if you’re not feeling [...]
British Land signs first tenant for Cheesegrater as profits increase November 15, 2011 PROPERTY developer British Land has formally signed a pre-let agreement with insurance broker Aon to lease a third of its Leadenhall building, nicknamed the Cheesegrater, in the City. Aon will take 191,000 square feet over 10 floors of the 47-floor skyscraper – due to be completed mid-2014 – paying on average £56.60 per square foot [...]
British Land asset value rises November 15, 2011 UK developer British Land posted rises in first-half net asset value (NAV) and underlying pretax profit, and said it was well positioned to capture upside in both income and capital when the economy improves. British Land booked a 4.2 per cent rise in first-half NAV to 591 pence a share, while its underlying pre-tax profit [...]
Allen & Overy posts healthy revenue rise for first half but says debt crisis will affect rest of the year November 10, 2011 MAGIC circle law firm Allen & Overy has seen an 11 per cent rise in revenue at the mid-way point of its financial year, hitting £582m. But managing partner Wim Dejonghe warned that headwinds could slow growth over the next six months, with the firm’s “healthy” performance unlikely to be matched in the second half. [...]
Hamlet has a brand new Sheen November 10, 2011 Theatre HAMLET YOUNG VIC No play can bore or tire the viewer more if produced unoriginally or acted weakly, and none can engage, emote nor enthral more if done well, than Hamlet. This Hamlet, starring Michael Sheen and directed by Ian Rickson (director of smash hit Jerusalem, playing across town), is the enthralling kind. Every [...]
GDP rises to 0.5 per cent November 1, 2011 Gross domestic product grew by 0.5 per cent on the quarter as business services and finance posted the strongest quarterly increase in four years, according to the Office for National Statistics. However, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey released earlier showed that manufacturers saw the sharpest monthly rate of decline since June 2009 in October. [...]
Panasonic makes £3.4bn full-year loss October 31, 2011 Japanese electronics giant Panasonic has posted its second biggest-ever annual loss, of 420bn yen (£3.4bn), as it struggled with the impact of a soaring yen and falling demand in developed markets. The loss came despite Panasonic speeding up its efforts to restructure its unprofitable businesses and restructuring its flatscreen TV division to improve its performance. [...]
Lazard shares soar despite profit fall on market turmoil October 27, 2011 ELITE US investment bank Lazard pleased investors with a 24 per cent surge in revenue gained from advising on M&A in the third quarter. Lazard shares bounced as much as 18 per cent after it posted the better than expected rise in advisory revenues to $199.1m (£124.5m). Despite the gain, Lazard’s third-quarter pre-tax profits fell [...]
Asia presses the brakes on Ford recovery October 26, 2011 THE UNCERTAIN nature of the recovery in the global car market was underlined yesterday as Ford posted a dip in third-quarter profit. America’s number two car-maker also cut its profit margin forecast for this year after racking up losses in Europe and Asia. It said it had been hit by slowing growth in China and [...]