Sony soaring on a windfall October 28, 2005 Sony reported a better-than-expected rise in second-quarter profits due to a pensions windfall that offset falling prices in electronic products and high restructuring charges. The electronics giant announced a 52 per cent rise in operating profits to Y65.9bn (£320m) for the three months to 30 September, although sales remained the same as last year at [...]
The house scouts who do all the leg work October 27, 2005 Buy-to-let investors don’t always have the time and the knowledge to find the perfect property. It is still possible to make a living out of buy to-let — by setting up a business that helps others find and run the right investments. Buy-to-let support staff are multiplying fast in a property market which seems unable [...]
Rubies and icons come from Russia with love October 27, 2005 Annushka Ducas set up a jewellery company in 1990 to help her mother out with some cufflinks. Since then she and Links have come a long way. Annushka Ducas has come back from Russia with a jewellery collection. For a woman who wasn’t the founder of Links of London this would mean a major over-spend [...]
Amazon’s ebbs and flows October 27, 2005 The dotcom giant is at the forefront of growth in the online retail industry. Its sales have just kept on growing, hitting $1bn in America and Canada. But yet its share price has taken a tumble this week. Wall Street is always falling in and out of love with Amazon. In the online retailer’s 10-year [...]
Toyota revs up October 27, 2005 As the wheels come off at GM, Toyota makes its passing move. Roger Baird surveys the wreckage General Motors will have to change the first line of its company profile. It’s not going to be the world’s biggest car maker for much longer. Detroit is being replaced by Tokyo. It may not be able to [...]
EMH bucks car sales trend October 27, 2005 Car dealership European Motor Holdings (EMH) outperformed the market in the first half despite a sluggish demand for new cars from cash strapped consumers. EMH said the number of new cars sold at its franchises increased marginally over the period despite a 6 per cent fall in the registrations of new cars in Britain during [...]
First Choice is buoyed by determined sunseekers October 27, 2005 Travel operator First Choice said its business had not been stymied by the high street spending slowdown as customers were scrimping to ensure they could still “get away from it all”. “Fundamentally there is a very strong demand for travel experiences,” said First Choice chief executive Peter Long. “When I feel good I trade up, [...]
Relief at CAT Abbott deal October 27, 2005 Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) has reached an agreement with American pharmaceutical firm Abbott about how much it should get in royalties from the sale of the blockbuster arthritis drug Humira. The deal, which sent shares in the loss-making British biopharmaceutical company up almost 4 per cent, has headed off a Court of Appeal’s case scheduled [...]
Another bidder enters Refco lists October 27, 2005 The race to take over the futures business of collapsed broker Refco hotted up as another group emerged as a possible bidder. TradeLink, a Chicago-based futures commission merchant, its co-founder, Walt Weissman, and Nickolas Neubauer, a member of the board of directors of the Chicago Board of Trade, are forming an investor group to consider [...]
Anglo investors share $1bn return October 27, 2005 The world’s third-largest mining company Anglo American revealed a plan yesterday to return $1bn (£560m) to investors in 2006. CEO Tony Trahar said: “Through a series of measures we are creating a more focused mining group.” As part of the wide-ranging review Anglo is to cut its 51 per cent stake in gold producer AngloGold [...]