Editor's Picks
Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext in merger talks
Wednesday 09 Feb 2011
Mergers & acquisitions activity in the exchange sector is in full-swing following news that Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext are in talks about a tie-up.The announcement between the two companies came on the same day that London Stock Exchange said it has agreed to merge with Canadian peer TMX, which owns the main Toronto exchanges.
LSE agrees merger with Canadian rival TMX
Wednesday 09 Feb 2011
London Stock Exchange has agreed a merger with Canadian peer TMX that will lead to the creation of the world's largest stock exchange by numbers of companies listed.
Reckitt saved by developing markets
Wednesday 09 Feb 2011
Reckitt Benckiser, the company that makes Dettol and Nurofen, enjoyed strong profit growth in 2010 as developing markets offset a decline in Europe.
Banks agree to increase lending
Wednesday 09 Feb 2011
Britain’s big banks are to lend about £190bn to businesses this year in a deal announced by the government today.
Home buyers cautious in January
Tuesday 08 Feb 2011
The housing market remained sluggish last month as cautious buyers met with limited levels of supply.
Soaring commodity prices inflate Xstrata's profits
Tuesday 08 Feb 2011
Mining giant Xstrata enjoyed a sharp surge in profitability in 2010, as the benefits of 2009’s restructuring activities kicked in and production volumes soared.
Egypt trouble to cost Thomas Cook £20m
Tuesday 08 Feb 2011
The political turmoil in Egypt and Tunisia will knock £20m from Thomas Cook's profits this quarter, the travel group warned, disrupting what had been a good start to the year.
Premier Foods sells canned ops for £182m
Tuesday 08 Feb 2011
Hovis to Branston pickle group Premier Foods has sold its canned foods businesses to Princes Limited for £182m, the second major disposal in a fortnight for the debt laden group.
Bank levy raised to £2.5bn
Tuesday 08 Feb 2011
Chancellor George Osborne has increased the government levy on bank profits this year by £800m to £2.5bn.Originally the chancellor said he would phase the tax in, with a lower rate of £1.7bn applicable in 2011 rising to about £2.5bn annually by 2012-13. But today, the Treasury said it had increased the levy to raise the full amount as it wanted banks to make "a fair contribution".
Institute of Directors calls for tax cuts
Monday 07 Feb 2011
The Institute of Directors (IoD) has called on the government to reduce taxes and scrap collective bargaining for teachers and NHS workers.
January retail sales rise despite worries
Monday 07 Feb 2011
High Street sales were buoyant in January, new figures from the analyst BDO showed, easing fears that the VAT rise and worries over the government’s austerity programme will hit consumer sentiment. Sales during the month were up by 9.1% from the previous January, the BDO said. Milder weather and continued discounting gave a welcome boost to mid-market retailers.
Moss Bros ditches Hugo Boss
Monday 07 Feb 2011
Suit hire and sale company Moss Bros is selling its 15 Hugo Boss franchised stores to Hugo Boss UK for £16.5m as part of a move to simplify the business and focus on its core Moss brand.
Bellway sticks with full year forecasts
Monday 07 Feb 2011
Housebuilder Bellway has been encouraged by the pick up in site visits and reservations in 2011 following the cold snap in December.
British Airways lifts surcharge as oil price soars
Friday 04 Feb 2011
British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) has blamed soaring oil prices for a £12 increase on the fuel surcharge on long-haul flights.
SuperGroup expansion cheers market
Friday 04 Feb 2011
SuperGroup’s recent acquisition of CNC Collections, its franchise partner in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, doesn’t change that much operationally, but should offer big financial benefits for SuperGroup’s shareholders.
Traffic jumps 19% at easyJet
Friday 04 Feb 2011
Budget airline easyJet flew 19.1% more passengers on its orange liveried planes this January than a year ago.
High yielding investment trusts
Friday 04 Feb 2011
With most bank and building society savings accounts offering derisory interest rates these days it is tempting to look to other forms of investments to boost income. If you want higher returns, however, then you usually have to accept higher risk of losing your capital, though there are ways of reducing this risk.
Overseas demand drives Electrocomponents
Friday 04 Feb 2011
Sales continue to surge ahead at component distributor Electrocomponents with an improvement of nearly a fifth over the past four months.
French Connection to make nearly £7m
Friday 04 Feb 2011
French Connection's ongoing businesses staged a strong profit recovery over the past six months and the fashion chain now expects to post at least £6.8m, up from £1m, for the year to January just ended.
Monday newspaper round-up: Energy groups, Retail sales, RBS...
Friday 04 Feb 2011
The big six energy companies could be driven from Britain if they are treated too harshly in any pricing investigation, a senior minister has told The Times. In an intervention likely to put pressure on regulators, Charles Hendry said that suppliers might be too important to future energy security to be exposed to the full rigours of a competition investigation.
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