Ineos set for Swiss move as tax fears rise April 11, 2010 CHEMICALS group Ineos has confirmed it will shift its tax residency from the UK to Switzerland in a move it believes will save the company £400m over the next four years. Ineos, the largest privately owned company in Britain by turnover, said it had received the thumbs-up for the relocation from its lenders, including state-owned [...]
The biggest Mad Man in the world still retains a close eye for detail April 7, 2010 This downturn is evidently really beginning to get on the nerves of WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell. He says: “People’s expectations have shifted. Company profits were down 30 per cent in 2008, now that they were only down, say, 13 per cent last year, they are calling that good. But if profits keep falling [...]
To understand the future of law, look back April 6, 2010 LAW firms are currently experiencing change like never before. In the last two years, many firms have seen their revenues and profits decline for the first time in over a decade. They’ve had to let go many talented lawyers, both at partner level and below. Clients who used to accept above-inflation fee increases each year [...]
Britain’s election battle starts today April 5, 2010 LET the battle commence. Gordon Brown will today go to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen to dissolve parliament, paving the way for a general election on 6 May. It will be a hugely important and exciting contest; it will be the first time since 1992 that a general election will be monitored so closely [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF DMGT’S TRADING FIGURES? March 30, 2010 LORNA TILBIAN | NUMIS SECURITIES We are upgrading our forecasts by five per cent. Business to consumer is benefiting from improved advertising, and we expect this to continue into the third quarter, as evidenced by reports that ITV will see strong trading then. MICK GILLIGAN | KILLIK & CO We would be mindful of the [...]
CITY TAKES AN OUTSIDE PUNT ON THE BUBBLY March 23, 2010 AMUSED ripples radiated from the City yesterday following this column’s speculation as to what tipple George Osborne – likely to be the country’s next chancellor if the Tories win the election – might drink if he ends up presenting the next Budget. It seems most readers agreed with The Capitalist’s prediction that Osborne would stick [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 8, 2010 LEGAL & GENERAL Nomura has reiterated its “buy” recommendation on Legal & General (L&G) ahead of its results. Nomura expects strong half- year results and have upgraded their earnings dividend forecasts. Nomura said last week there was a positive step towards the removal of a solvency threat to L&G’s annuity book. WPP Royal Bank of [...]
WPP is past the worst as it looks to World Cup for boost March 7, 2010 WPP is looking to the World Cup to kick start the weakend advertising industry. The advertising giant, headed by Sir Martin Sorrell, is hoping that the World Cup, Shanghai Expo, US mid-term elections and UK general election will give it a platform to crawl out of the advertising recession. The world’s biggest advertising firm last [...]
Tournament isn’t Holy Grail March 7, 2010 WPP hopes the World Cup will help prevent yet another annus horribilis for advertising. The signs are good; the advertising market will remain almost flat this year, a reversal from the steep declines seen in 2007 and 2008. This will be largely aided by a dramatic spike in revenue – as much as 16 per [...]
WPP profits plunge in “brutal” year March 5, 2010 ADVERTISING giant WPP saw pre-tax plunge by 11 per cent to £663m last year. Like-for-like revenues fell by 8 per cent as Sir Martin Sorell’s company suffered what it branded a “brutal year”. But the company said the economic environment was improving and like-for-like revenue in January was stable. “We seem to have moved from [...]