Bank of America elite in line for record bonuses January 8, 2010 AN elite of Bank of America investment bankers are likely to receive record bonuses this year, the company has admitted. The bank, which repaid $45bn (£28bn) to the US government after being bailed out, had been limited to how big a bonus pot could be offered. But now the lender has moved to restore substantial [...]
Ecclestone in bid to buy Saab January 8, 2010 FORMULA 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone has been revealed as a major player in a bid to take over beleaguered Swedish car maker Saab. The billionaire has teamed up with Luxembourg-based investment company Genii Capital to look at a potential offer. Saab has been put up for sale by owner GM as part of a major [...]
Factory prices rise January 8, 2010 THE prices of goods leaving UK factories rose at a faster pace than expected in December, according to official figures. UK producer prices rose by 0.5 per cent last month the data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. It took the annual rate of output price inflation to 3.5 per cent – the [...]
Interest rate held at 0.5% January 7, 2010 The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has once again frozen the interest rate at 0.5 per cent. It also agreed to continue with quantitative easing to help shore up the economy. The interest rate has remained unchanged since March after the MPC took drastic action to tackle the global economic crisis. Quantitative easing [...]
Sainsbury’s reports “record” Christmas performance January 7, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain J Sainsbury was given a festive boost with sales rising by 3.8 per cent as shoppers snapped up food and drink for Christmas. The like-for-like sales figures for the 12 weeks to Boxing Day beat the forecasts of City analysts who had predicted a 3.5 per cent gain. The data also show that [...]
Persimmon in house sales boost January 7, 2010 Housebuilder Persimmon remained cautious over the health of the housing market despite a stronger performance in the second half of 2009. The FTSE 250 group said it completed the sale of 8,796 new homes during 2009, which generated a turnover of around £1.4bn. Almost 5000 of these properties were sold in the second half – [...]
JD Sports “back on track” after seasonal lift January 7, 2010 JD Sports Fashion said it was on track beat the City’s profit expectations for the year after enjoying a festive boost. Like-for-like sales rose 6.6 per per cent in the five weeks to January 6, driven by the performance of its fashion-focused chains Bank and Scotts, where trading rose 9.7 per cent. The group said [...]
DP World eyes London listing January 6, 2010 PORT operator DP World is looking to list on the London Stock Exchange after failing to drum up sufficient investor interest on the Nasdaq Dubai bourse. The Dubai-based group, which is more than three-quarters owned by the crisis-hit conglomerate Dubai World, said it was disappointed with the market valuation of the company and will now [...]
M&S reports sales boost but warns of tough 2010 January 6, 2010 MARKS & SPENCER has reported a rise in sales for the three months to Christmas but warned of a tough year ahead. The retailer saw like for like sales rise by 0.8 per cent with record takings on food on 23 December. Food sales overall were 0.4 per cent up on the previous year with [...]
Iceland to call referendum on bank payouts January 5, 2010 ICELAND’S President Olafur Grimsson has refused to sign into law a bill to repay more than £3.1bn that was lost by British and Dutch savers when the island’s banks collapsed. The country’s parliament initially passed the bill on New Year’s Eve but the president’s move means that under the constitution a referendum must be held. [...]
