The bike and car parts retailer who wants to own Britain on the move June 20, 2010 Halfords and its chief executive David Wild are having a good recession. Earlier this month, the bikes and car maintenance retail chain posted a strong set of full-year figures: pre-tax profits rose 42 per cent to £110m, while sales rose three per cent to £832m. The FTSE 250 business said the trend for healthy living [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UGANDA TAX ROW DELAYS HERITAGE SALE OF OIL FIELD Uganda is insisting that Heritage Oil, the UK-listed oil explorer, must agree to pay $360m (£243m) in capital gains tax on the “super profits” it will make on a $1.35bn oilfields sale before it will sanction the deal. Uganda’s energy minister said the government [...]
Accountants are vital for boosting economies right across the world June 16, 2010 IT’S clear we are living in unprecedented economic times. Indicators from various sources – including the latest quarterly survey of ACCA members, the largest of its kind in the world – suggest “cautious optimism”, and no more, is appropriate. In 2010, the financial services sector continues to dominate all levels of debate, from its willingness [...]
Higher costs set to crimp FedEx profits next year June 16, 2010 FEDEX reported a quarterly profit yesterday that beat analyst expectations, but said costs would constrain its 2011 earnings. The company projected 2011 earnings per share in the range of $4.40 (£2.97) to $5.00. “We expect the growth in earnings in fiscal 2011 to be constrained,” chief financial officer Alan Graf Jr said, citing increases in [...]
China’s AgBank poised to raise over £15bn in IPO June 14, 2010 THE Agricultural Bank of China is seeking to raise over $23bn (£15.6bn) by listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, in what would be the world’s biggest IPO. The public share issue by AgBank, founded by Mao Zedong in the 1950s as the central bank’s rural arm, had previously been touted as high as $30bn, but [...]
Centrica looks hard at its nuclear option June 13, 2010 CENTRICA’S finance director Nick Luff is busy trying to work out if the new coalition energy secretary Chris Huhne is a man the country’s largest gas and electricity supplier can do business with. Huhne – a Liberal Democrat – had previously described nuclear power as a “failed technology.” But that was before he scented the [...]
Manufacturing output in surprise drop June 11, 2010 Manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in April, official data has shown – suggesting Britain’s recovering economy got off to a slow start in the second quarter. Figures from the Office for National Statistics also showed producer input costs eased less than expected in May, although factory gate inflation slowed slightly more than expected. The ONS said [...]
European banks face second quarter chill due to debt woes June 10, 2010 EUROPEAN banks including UBS, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse face a sharp slowdown in the second quarter on the back of regional sovereign debt fears, analysts believe. UBS chief financial officer John Cryan yesterday told an informal lunch meeting that the Swiss institution would post weaker results for the three months to the end of [...]
FSA’S SANTS MAKES LAST STAND FOR REGULATOR June 10, 2010 THERE’S nothing like going out fighting, is there? Yesterday marked the publication of FSA chief executive Hector Sants’ (right) last annual report at the helm of the regulator, which is under siege from politicians currently mulling whether or not it will have a future. Sants has never exactly made a secret of his feelings towards [...]
An intriguing plan to reform banking June 7, 2010 IF you leave your suit at a dry-cleaner, you retain ownership of the garment, even though possession has passed (temporarily) to the shop. But if you deposit £1,000 in a bank account, who owns the money? It’s still yours, held in trust by the bank, just as with the dry cleaner, right? Wrong. Ever since [...]