Monarch’s recovery on course as turnover and traffic increase November 29, 2012 MONARCH said yesterday that its turnaround plan is progressing faster than expected as the airline and holiday group posted rising turnover and passenger numbers. The firm did not release an earnings figure for the year to October, but finance director Robert Palmer said the losses were “substantially reduced” on the £45m operating loss a year [...]
Asian sparkle fades for Tiffany & Co November 29, 2012 JEWELLER Tiffany & Co yesterday lowered its full-year sales and profit outlook for the third straight quarter and posted lower-than-expected revenue and earnings after a drop in same-store sales in its Asia market. Like-for-like sales at Asian stores fell four per cent, excluding currency effects, as global sales rose 3.8 per cent to $852.7m in [...]
Retailers enjoy a third month of sales growth November 29, 2012 RETAIL sales growth accelerated in November, industry data out yesterday indicated, marking the third month of expansion after August’s small decline. The net balance of retailers who reported a rise in sales year-on-year rose to plus 33 per cent in November from plus 30 per cent in October, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said. [...]
Interest rates inch down in third month of Funding for Lending November 29, 2012 INTEREST rates on new secured loans edged down in October, the third month since the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) began, data revealed yesterday, but rates on unsecured loans rose. The average interest rate on new secured loans edged down from 3.77 per cent to 3.74 per cent last month, the Bank of England said. [...]
London rejoices as Megafon IPO defies the odds November 28, 2012 MEGAFON, the mobile telecoms group controlled by Russia’s richest man, Alisher Usmanov, became the second largest share offering in Europe this year as it raised $1.7bn (£1.06bn) yesterday in London and Moscow despite concerns which had earlier led Goldman Sachs to step aside from the deal. The deal was assisted in its final stages by [...]
Spanish banks must slash jobs for bailout cash November 28, 2012 FOUR Spanish banks have agreed to downsize radically in return for a huge injection of public money, after the European Commission approved the restructuring plans yesterday. Between them the banks will receive a €40bn (£32.2bn) recapitalisation boost, but must slash jobs and shrink their balance sheets by up to 60 per cent as part of [...]
Private sector loans decline November 28, 2012 BANK lending to businesses fell again in the Eurozone in October, according to data published yesterday by the European Central Bank (ECB). Despite market sentiment improving on the back of the ECB’s plans to buy the bonds of struggling governments like Spain’s, loans to the firms fell 1.8 per cent, accelerating from the 1.5 per [...]
US consumer confidence climbs to four-year high in November November 27, 2012 US CONSUMER confidence hit a four and a half year high yesterday, as a swathe of other data added to the picture of an economy recovering modestly. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index grew to 73.7 in November, from 73.1 in October, where 100 is the average for 1985. The last time it was higher [...]
iPhone 5 sees Apple take bite out of Android November 27, 2012 THE LAUNCH of the iPhone 5 led to Apple regaining the initiative in the smartphone wars in recent weeks, data released yesterday showed. US sales of iPhones overtook those of smartphones running Google’s software, Android, during the 12 week period to 28 October, figures from researchers Kantar Worldpanel showed. It is the first time since [...]
Superfast network keeps Hull internet provider KCOM in line November 27, 2012 YORKSHIRE-BASED telecoms company KCOM said “strong demand” for its superfast “fibre” broadband service had enabled profits to remain steady despite a fall in revenues. The company, which announced plans to treble its fibre network, posted a 4.7 per cent reduction in revenues to £188.7m in the half-year to October, which it blamed on “challenging conditions”. [...]