Editor's Picks
Mandelson’s car initiative gets mixed reactions
Wednesday 28 Jan 2009
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson £2.3bn loan guarantee package for the beleaguered car industry has received mixed reactions.
Investors braced as companies dash for cash
Wednesday 28 Jan 2009
A spate of companies announced plans to raise capital and rumours suggest more are to follow. Mining giant Rio Tinto has admitted it might launch a share issue just two weeks after it denied any such plans. The miner said raising cash through a share issue was one of the options it is considering to pay down its $37bn of debts. The news comes as rumours suggest that rival Xstrata may be in need of a rights issue
Asda and BSkyB need 8,000 new staff
Wednesday 28 Jan 2009
At last, some good news on the jobs front. Supermarket giant Asda and satellite TV giant BSkyB have created about 8,000 jobs, giving hope to some of those facing up to life on the dole this year.
No New Year hangover for Greene King
Wednesday 28 Jan 2009
Brewer and pub owner Greene King has boosted like for like retail sales by 2.4% over the last eight weeks, with still no sign of the anticipated post-New Year slowdown.
Crude price rally fizzles shy of $50
Wednesday 28 Jan 2009
Oil prices were largely flat Wednesday after a previous rally towards the $50-a-barrel mark fizzled out earlier in the week.
Yahoo! cagey about merger rumours
Wednesday 28 Jan 2009
Web search portal Yahoo! beat market expectations with its fourth-quarter results but prospects for the first quarter are worse than Wall Street had been expecting.
Beer sales tumble as Britons tighten belts
Tuesday 27 Jan 2009
You would expect the current economic hardship to drive more people to drink. Not so, according to new figures out today, which show a record fall in beer sales in the UK.
Christmas not early enough for Hornby
Tuesday 27 Jan 2009
Christmas came a little too late for model trains and racing cars group Hornby, which expects profits to be at the low end of forecasts despite a strong finish to its trading year.
Lehman buy adds to Nomura losses
Tuesday 27 Jan 2009
Japanese broker Nomura posted heavy losses in the final quarter of 2008 as it counted the cost of its acquisition last year of the Asian and European operations of the failed US bank Lehman Brothers.
No New Year hangover for Greene King
Tuesday 27 Jan 2009
Brewer and pub owner Greene King has boosted like for like retail sales by 2.4% over the last eight weeks, with still no sign of the anticipated post-New Year slowdown.
Customers still flocking to BSkyB
Tuesday 27 Jan 2009
The number of new Sky TV customers in the second half of 2008 was higher than expected at pay TV and broadband provider BSkyB, but growth in the broadband customer base disappointed slightly. Sky TV saw net customer growth in the fourth quarter of 171,000, up from 167,000 in the corresponding quarter of 2007 and above the 140,000 – 145,000 expected by sector analysts.
BA warns of £150m loss
Monday 26 Jan 2009
British Airways warned that it expects to report a full-year operating loss of £150m as the carrier was hit by the deteriorating economic outlook and the weaker pound.
Pfizer seals $68bn Wyeth deal
Monday 26 Jan 2009
US drugs giant Pfizer has agreed to buy its smaller rival Wyeth in a cash-and-stock deal worth $68bn, making it the biggest takeovers since the beginning of the global financial crisis.
Job losses sweep across US and Europe
Monday 26 Jan 2009
Deteriorating economic condition across the globe prompted a string of job cuts across continents yesterday. In the US, more than 45,000 workers lost their jobs as the country's economic problems continue to bite hard, while a raft of European household names also retrenched.
Barclays banishes cash call fear
Monday 26 Jan 2009
Fears that Barclays will have to raise oodles of cash or, god forbid, hand over control to chancellor Alistair Darling and his chums at the Treasury, abated today, boosting the shares by up to 76% and the bank’s value by more than £3bn.
Wolseley slumps after profits slide and debt climbs
Sunday 25 Jan 2009
Shares in Wolseley were plumbing the depths Monday after the building supplies group reported a 66% decline in pre-tax profits in the five months to December 31. The Plumb Center operator saw revenues fell by 3% in the five months to December 31 compared with the same period a year ago, Wolseley said, adding that the performance in the last two months of the year was affected by ‘unprecedented events in the global financial markets.’
Microsoft looking over shoulder at Google
Friday 23 Jan 2009
Microsoft has been regarded as the 800lb gorilla of the computing world ever since it reportedly mugged IBM over the joint development of the OS/2 operating system at the turn of the nineties. Many industry observers reckon there is a new alpha ape in town, and its name is Google.
Chaucer first of many to raise capital
Friday 23 Jan 2009
Chaucer Holdings, the Lloyd's insurer, admitted it is currently exploring its options to raise capital after press speculation suggested a number of companies are looking to issue new equity.
Rate Alert: Inflation-Busting Savings Accounts
Friday 23 Jan 2009
Having to pay the bank to hold your money in a savings account might appear a contradiction, but experts are warning it is a real possibility following the latest cut in interest rates.
Boom Boom! Basil Brush owner fined £¼m
Friday 23 Jan 2009
Entertainment Rights has been fined £245,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for failing to report a possible $14m earnings hit in a timely manner.
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