Home Retail Group boosted by kitchens September 10, 2009 HOMEBASE and Argos owner Home Retail Group said yesterday it would match the previous year’s interim underlying profits, as sales of televisions and kitchens held up through the slump. Benchmark profit before tax will be “broadly in line” with last year’s £121m, it said. The group said customers were staying at home in the recession, [...]
BBVA in 2bn bond issue to bolster its capital base September 27, 2009 SPANISH bank BBVA said yesterday it had raised €2bn (£1.8bn) in a sale of convertible bonds, outstripping the €1bn it had initially intended to issue. “BBVA’s clients have expressed a very favourable opinion of the transparency of the issue and of its attractive return, with a fixed 5 per cent coupon for five years,” a [...]
Reliance aims high with a $12bn offer November 22, 2009 AINDIAN-BASED Reliance Industries has made an initial offer for bankrupt chemical company LyondellBasell. Sources say the cash offer for a controlling interest in the company would be for around $12bn (£7.26 bn), making it one of the largest foreign acquisition by an Indian company to date. LyondellBasell spokesperson David Harpole said Reliance’s offer represented “an [...]
Shares in Wolseley rocket as trading outpaces forecasts September 28, 2009 WOLSELEY, the building supplies group, saw its shares surge yesterday, despite reporting a loss, as headline numbers for the first half of the year beat expectations. The company, which is fighting a massive slump in the housing market, reported pre-tax losses for the year to 31 July of £766m, down from a profit of £399m [...]
Housebuilder Redrow unveils its worst ever annual results September 10, 2009 HOUSEBUILDER Redrow yesterday announced its worst ever yearly trading results, after its revenue dropped by more than half to £301.8m. The company may now be forced to launch a rights issue to boost its capital and finance land purchases. Group revenue fell from £650.1m for the same period a year ago, in line with tough [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 24, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading share index lost 1.2 per cent yesterday as a weak US housing report and cautious comments from the Bank of England governor raised investor concern over the pace of economic recovery. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 60.10 points lower at 5,079.27, finishing below the 5,100 level for the first time in [...]
Profits slide at John Lewis as crunch hits September 17, 2009 THE John Lewis Partnership, seen as a bellwether for middle-class consumer confidence, yesterday reported a 20 per cent dive in first-half profits. Despite a strong performance from its grocery chain Waitrose, the group said pre-tax profits were down by £21m to £86.3m in the six months to 1 August. The group’s department store, famed for [...]
Profits slide at John Lewis as crunch hits September 17, 2009 THE John Lewis Partnership, seen as a bellwether for middle-class consumer confidence, yesterday reported a 20 per cent dive in first-half profits. Despite a strong performance from its grocery chain Waitrose, the group said pre-tax profits were down by £21m to £86.3m in the six months to 1 August. The group’s department store, famed for [...]
OUT OF OFFICE October 13, 2009 DAMIEN HIRST AT THE WALLACE COLLECTIONHirst, whose work fetched £100,000 at a charity sale at Christie’s on Monday night, has spent £250,000 refurbishing the Wallace Collection in preparation for his display there. Twenty-five works, never seen in Britain, will be on display, making him one of the few living artists ever to have their work [...]
OUT OF OFFICE October 13, 2009 DAMIEN HIRST AT THE WALLACE COLLECTIONHirst, whose work fetched £100,000 at a charity sale at Christie’s on Monday night, has spent £250,000 refurbishing the Wallace Collection in preparation for his display there. Twenty-five works, never seen in Britain, will be on display, making him one of the few living artists ever to have their work [...]