HMV in profit warning March 1, 2011 HMV Group has said full-year pre-tax profits will be “moderately below” market expectations of £45m. The company, which has been hit by the move to downloads, also said it expected to breach its banking covenants when they are tested after its full-year results. It confirmed it had started talks with its lenders with a view [...]
Redrow swings back into profit September 9, 2010 British housebuilder Redrow swung to full-year pretax profit, well ahead of analyst expectations, thanks to an overhaul of the business, higher selling prices and more home sales. The company reported a full-year pre-tax profit of £0.7m, against last year’s pre-tax loss from trading operations before exceptionals of £44.2m and a total pre-tax loss of £140.8m. [...]
Galliford Try bounces back September 15, 2010 UK housebuilder and construction firm Galliford Try posted a 6.5 per cent rise in full-year adjusted pre-tax profit, aided by growth in its housebuilding division, and said it was on track for expanding the unit. The firm, whose origins can be traced back to 1908 when WS Try formed a construction business that carried out [...]
Renting a room or other assets brings handy added income October 21, 2010 Nationwide Building Society’s UK consumer confidence index plunged nine points to 53 in September – its lowest level in over a year – as consumers fretted over looming job losses and higher prices. Jittery consumers are pulling in their purse-strings in this new age of austerity, but some entrepreneurial spirit could help you boost your [...]
Morale at UK factories hits record high March 13, 2011 CONFIDENCE among British manufacturers has hit a record high, business consultancy KPMG said today. Over two thirds (68 per cent) of surveyed manufacturers expect business activity to increase, leading to the highest positive balance (60.4 per cent) since the survey began in 2002. And morale in the service sector is also improving, the report showed. [...]
House prices plunge by £6k in one month October 7, 2010 HOUSE prices fell 3.6 per cent month-on-month in September, their largest fall since records began in 1983 wiping £6,000 off the value of a typical property around the country in a single month. Halifax, now part of Lloyds Banking Group and the country’s largest motgage lender, said yesterday in its closely watched index that the [...]
Positive open is forecast after jumpy trading September 19, 2010 A mildly positive start is the call for stocks this morning, but after Friday’s jumpy trading session sentiment is mixed. GFT is quoting the FTSE 100 index to open up 8 points from Friday’s close, at a level of 5,516. The German DAX 40 is expected to open up 9 points at 6,218, and the [...]
L&G boosts dividend as it beats targets March 17, 2011 UK INSURER Legal & General boosted its divided by 24 per cent yesterday on the back of a £1bn operating profit, and said it expected to benefit from stronger demand for savings products in future as reduced welfare provision forces consumers to save more. Though operating profits fell slightly from £1.1bn in 2009, they remained [...]
Bank charges are customers’ biggest gripe September 14, 2010 At present – when consumer confidence in financial institutions is at its lowest ebb for over 60 years – there is good reason to reevaluate retail banks’ relationship with their customers at its most fundamental level: the current account. The arrival of service-focused Metrobank and Santander’s recent cash incentive to switch providers have sparked consumer [...]
Retail sales bleak as spending cuts dent confidence August 9, 2010 RETAIL sales growth is slowing as fears over public spending cuts hit consumer confidence, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Like-for like sales were up just 0.5 per cent in July compared with the same month last year. That was down on the 1.8 per cent rise the year before. Food sales performed relatively [...]