Sears posts $548m third-quarter loss and plans to sell 300 stores December 4, 2014 US department store chain Sears yesterday posted a $548m (£349m) third-quarter loss – slightly less than it had estimated last month. The company said it had been expecting a much greater loss, in the area of $590m-$630m. Revenue fell for the 12th straight quarter, dropping 13 per cent to $7.21bn. The news comes at a [...]
Carillion grows power business with £33m deal December 1, 2014 CONSTRUCTION giant Carillion has bought a 60 per cent interest in the trade and assets of power line construction and maintenance company Rokstad Power. The total cash consideration for the acquisition is up to £33m, with £11m guaranteed by the end of the year and £10m next year. In 2016 and 2017, Carillion will pay [...]
Europe’s banks missing out on global recovery December 1, 2014 BANKS are recovering across the world and their profits are surging – except in Europe, according to a report out today from Boston Cons ulting Group (BCG). Lenders across the Middle East, Africa and the US are all growing, with income rising relative to costs of refinancing, operating and risk (economic return, or EP). For [...]
EU symbolically casts a vote for Google to split November 27, 2014 THE EUROPEAN parliament yesterday overwhelmingly supported a motion yesterday to have anti-trust regulators break up the popular internet search engine Google by a margin of 384 to 174. The body has no power to break up the net giant, but the vote will send out a clear message about whether politicians want regulators to take [...]
Stryker deal talk boosts Smith & Nephew share price November 24, 2014 US-based medical device company Stryker is reportedly examining the purchase of Smith & Nephew, the British manufacturer of surgical devices for orthopaedic construction. Yesterday Smith & Nephew’s stock jumped 4.4 per cent to 1,138p. The news came despite Stryker denying in May that it had any intention of making a bid for Smith & Nephew. [...]
US firms hire more staff despite slowing services sector growth November 24, 2014 The booming American economy is showing signs of slowing down from the breakneck speed it achieved earlier in the year, an influential survey of businesses showed yesterday. Its dominant services sector slowed for the fifth consecutive month in November, according to Markit. The purchasing managers’ index came in at 56.3, down from 57.1, but still [...]
Samsung brewing leadership changes after smartphone slump November 24, 2014 Changes may be coming in the upper tiers of Samsung Electronics’ leadership, after the tech industry giant and creators of the Galaxy smartphone suffered a particularly difficult year of declining profits, stock price and market share. According to one possible scenario, the company’s current head of mobile and one of three co-chief executives, Shin Jong-kyun, [...]
New chief exec at Synthomer November 18, 2014 BRITISH chemicals company Synthomer has appointed Calum MacLean as chief executive to replace Adrian Whitfield, who will leave in January 2015. MacLean is currently on the board of Ineos. He serves as chairman of Styrolution, the firm’s joint venture with BASF, and Petroineos Refining, its joint venture with PetroChina. Whitfield announced in July that he [...]
World Cup and an improving Irish economy help to spur TV and radio growth for UTV November 13, 2014 Northern Irish radio and television broadcaster UTV yesterday announced a nine per cent increase in revenue to £84.7m in the nine months to 30 September, thanks in large part to improving economic conditions in the UK and Ireland. UTV held the radio rights to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, which helped to boost its [...]
Premier Oil slows Sea Lion project to guard against falling oil prices November 13, 2014 LONDON-based oil and gas exploration company Premier Oil yesterday announced plans to slow progress at its Sea Lion project in a bid to cut costs as protection from lowered oil prices. Premier Oil chief executive Tony Durrant said that new projects would be sanctioned “if they are robust at our long term-oil price” – currently [...]
