US home sales bounce back, 3rd-quarter GDP raised December 22, 2010 SALES of previously-owned US homes rose in November, offering the latest sign the economy was ending the year on a more solid footing after a sluggish third-quarter performance. The Commerce Department has said the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.6 per cent in the third quarter, a touch above its earlier 2.5 per [...]
Provident ups sales despite benefit cuts November 24, 2010 SPECIALIST doorstep lender Provident Financial said yesterday it expected the impact of government spending cuts to have a modest impact on its customers. The lender said for the 12 weeks since the beginning of September its Home Credit sales were seven per cent ahead of sales for the same period a year ago. The company [...]
Provident ups sales despite benefit cuts November 24, 2010 SPECIALIST doorstep lender Provident Financial said yesterday it expected the impact of government spending cuts to have a modest impact on its customers. The lender said for the 12 weeks since the beginning of September its Home Credit sales were seven per cent ahead of sales for the same period a year ago. The company [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD January 16, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Several large American technology companies will report their results after UK trading hours on Tuesday, including Apple, IBM and Western Digital. ● As will remaining British retailers, including the fashion group Burberry and Carphone Warehouse. ● The budget pub chain JD Wetherspoon will release a trading update on Wednesday, as will bookmaker William [...]
The hosts with the most in 2012 March 8, 2011 THREE groups have been given the rights to sell packages for the Olympic Games after a bidding process which saw them beat a field of other companies to the finishing line. The main UK domestic packages are being run by an alliance between Prestige ticketing and Mike Burton-Sodexo, while US agency JetSet has also been [...]
Britain’s largest quoted housing landlord cautious November 25, 2010 BRITAIN’S largest quoted housing landlord Grainger said yesterday that its full-year operating profit rose 19.5 per cent to £94.2m, but expressed caution about the outlook for the UK’s housing sector. “In light of the ongoing challenge of the current economic climate, we remain cautious about the prospects for general growth in residential values over the [...]
Retail sales pick up but growth stays sluggish November 18, 2010 RETAIL sales in the UK rose for the first time in three months in October, according to official statistics released yesterday. Sales volumes were up 0.5 per cent compared to September, but still 0.1 per cent lower than the same month in 2009. Online retailers continued to outperform their traditional High Street rivals, with non-store [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 15, 2010 HMV Deutsche Bank rates the retailer “hold” with a target price of 45p. The broker has cut its profit forecast by 20 per cent after a gloomy set of results last week, and sees an eight per cent drop in like-for-like sales in the second half of the year. It has concerns about the focus [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 20, 2011 Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets has promoted Chris Birt to director in its acquisition finance team in London, reporting to Ian Sale. Birt, 33, has eight years of experience at Lloyds Banking Group after joining the corporate banking graduate scheme and has held his current position since 2006. Chris has led and co-led [...]
TDC in $3.7bn share buyback December 9, 2010 THE private equity owners of Denmark’s TDC are banking up to $3.7bn (£2.3bn) through a share buyback and one of Europe’s biggest public offerings of 2010, as they start to cash in on their investment. Over a third of the former telecoms monopoly is being sold initially. TDC’s chief executive Henrik Poulsen said. Apax Partners, [...]