B&Q owner boosted by summer sun July 23, 2009 KINGFISHER, the owner of DIY chain B&Q, yesterday reported a surprise rise in like-for-like sales in the second quarter, as cash-strapped consumers snapped up summer accessories thanks to a spell of barbeque weather. Kingfisher, which also operates Castorama in France, said it grew its market share in the 10 weeks to 11 July, but that [...]
WEALTHY OUT TO PLAY FOR SPEAR’S AWARDS September 14, 2009 LAST year, the Spear’s Wealth Management Awards were overshadowed somewhat by frantic whispers among the moneyed guests, who watched via BlackBerry as Congress voted against a $700bn bailout of the US banking industry and their Wall Street stock portfolios plummeted. So it was with some trepidation that those guests entered Christie’s auction house in St [...]
England make solid start in quest to win back Ashes July 8, 2009 ENGLAND will resume their attempt to regain the Ashes this morning with the first Test delicately poised after an encouraging first day in Cardiff. Andrew Strauss’s men recovered from the loss of three wickets before lunch to finish on 336-7, thanks largely to a 138-run stand between Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood. Matt Prior and [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HAS BSKYB IMPRESSED THE MARKET WITH ITS FULL-YEAR RESULTS? July 30, 2009 RICHARD HUNTER HARGREAVES LANSDOWNBSkyB has again confounded its doubters by posting numbers which belie the current environment. The spectres of fierce competition and rising unemployment both drag on prospects, but Sky continues to deliver in a marketplace in which it has pre-eminent experience, and the share price performance has reflected this. PAUL RICHARDS NUMIS SECURITIESWe [...]
ITV mulls new chief August 2, 2009 ITV’s board is today due to discuss the candidates short-listed to replace Michael Grade as chief executive, with some analysts expecting an announcement at its interim results on Thursday. HMV chief executive Simon Fox was last week the City’s new favourite to step into Grade’s shoes when he steps down at the end of the [...]
BSkyB ordered to pay out legal costs June 23, 2009 THE Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has ordered BSkyB to pay the government and Competition Commission’s legal costs associated with the broadcaster’s appeal to keep its 17.9 per cent stake in ITV. BSkyB is fighting an ongoing battle to retain the stake, which it bought for £940m in 2006. The deal blocked a potential takeover of [...]
Funds buy up UK property August 10, 2009 PROPERTY fund managers are storming back into the UK market, believing the correction has now ended and bricks and mortar assets are looking cheap. Managers believe the collapse of the property bubble has created a wealth of investment opportunities, with Henderson’s Herald fund and F&C’s Commercial Property Trust both diving back in to the UK [...]
SEEING IS BELIEVING AS 6,500 RUNNERS HIT THE CITY OF LONDON July 16, 2009 THE CITY was out in force last night for the fifth annual Standard Chartered Great City Run, and The Capitalist was impressed that as many as 6,500 of you tackled the five kilometre race in the name of the official charity, Seeing is Believing (SiB). The square mile closed to traffic so that teams from [...]
Ponting and Katich have tons of fun as Aussies revel July 9, 2009 AUSTRALIA batsmen Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich both hit centuries as the tourists regained the upper hand on day two of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff. Captain Ponting (100 not out) recorded his 38th Test century and Katich (104 n.o.) his first Ashes ton to guide the Aussies to 249-1 in reply to England’s [...]
DAREDEVIL CHIEF ROLET BRINGS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR TO FUSTY LSE September 17, 2009 XAVIER Rolet is certainly freshening things up over at the London Stock Exchange. The exchange’s new boss has been busy over the past few weeks, having shaken up the LSE’s marketing team, struck a deal to replace its IT provider and got rid of its trusted PR adviser Finsbury (the super-spinner and its arch-rival Brunswick [...]