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Business News
Tesco defeats Sir Tom over garden centre fight
2008-05-17 06:01 - Dobbies Garden Centre, the AIM-listed group at the centre of an ownership
struggle between Scottish billionaire Sir Tom Hunter and Tesco, will proceed
with its £150 million rights issue after Sir Tom failed in a legal bid to
block the move.
Phone-in scandals help flatten BT profits
2008-05-17 06:01 - A fall in premium-rate services revenue has hit the fixed-line business of BT
and helped flatten pre-tax profits in Ben Verwaayen’s final year as chief
executive.
Germany propels eurozone growth
2008-05-17 06:01 - A stunning leap in Germany’s growth fuelled a sharp acceleration in the
eurozone economy in the first quarter despite the credit crisis, but failed
to quell fears that Europe will soon succumb to the global downturn.
Credit Agricole targets €11bn as profits slump
2008-05-17 06:01 - Crédit Agricole, the French bank, has reshuffled its top management to replace
the head of its investment banking arm, Calyon, and joined the list of banks
tapping shareholders for fresh funds to repair balance sheets ravaged by the
credit crunch.
Tempus: Power failure
2008-05-17 06:01 - John Browett could be forgiven for wondering what he’s walked into. Shortly
after joining DSG International in December, he was forced to issue the
first of two profit warnings.
Tempus: Open plan
2008-05-17 06:01 - Barclays is wise, given the vascillating that has embarrassed its rivals, to
refuse to rule out some kind of capital raising. The bank this morning
admitted that its core equity Tier 1 capital ratio, which was already below
the bank’s 5.25 per cent target at December, would fall even further,
possibly to as low as 4.9 per cent according to analysts, by the half-year.
Finance director Chris Lucas says that Barclays is "prepared to run
ahead of targets or below, depending on circumstances". But with
financial regulators pushing banks to beef up their capital buffer, and
Barclays’ competitors’ aiming for targets of 6 per cent at the very least,
the bank is going to look increasingly out of step. Questions about its
balance sheet are likely to to continue to drag the stock. A further
downturn in the financial markets could worsen the problem. It was tricky to
tell how parts of the bank are faring. Barclays Capital has been profitable
in the year to date despite the turmoil. But, although it wrote back up £500
million worth of its own debt, Barclays did not mention similar improvements
in its credit investments. It has also been sparing in writing down its
leveraged finance exposure. There is much that could still turn sour for
banks this year. No wonder Barclays wants to leave all its options open.
Tempus: No hang ups
2008-05-17 06:01 - Three months is evidently a long time at BT Group. The below-forecast sales
growth and poor cashflow revealed in February’s third-quarter results was
enough to trigger a 10 per cent fall in the shares of the £18 billion
telecoms operator.
Kier warns start of public sector slowdown
2008-05-17 06:01 - Kier, one of Britain’s biggest construction and house building companies,
today gave warning of a slowdown in public sector spending across the
country.
BA’s Willie Walsh waives bonus over Terminal 5 fiasco
2008-05-17 06:01 - Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, has bowed to investor
pressure and will not take his bonus because of the airline’s failure to
move smoothly into Teminal 5 in March.
British Energy bids send shares higher
2008-05-17 06:01 - The battle for British Energy, the UK’s main nuclear generator, has sprung
back to life after the company said it was considering three offers, two of
which have been priced higher than the company’s closing share price on
Thursday of 680p a share.
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