Ladbrokes shares plunge as it cuts revenue forecasts for gaming machines August 8, 2013 Shares in Ladbrokes plunged over five per cent today as the UK betting company reported its pre-tax profits nearly halved to £67.3m from £123.7m in the first half of the year. Basic earnings per share fell to 5.2p from 12.5p. It warned that it is no longer expecting like-for-like revenue growth from gaming machines for [...]
China not headed for a “hard landing” says Rio Tinto boss as volatility pushes earnings down August 8, 2013 Mining giant Rio Tinto has reported pre-tax profits were more or less flat in the first half of the year and a 71 per cent fall in basic earnings per share (EPS). Its chief executive Sam Walsh warned against global economic volatility, but does not think China is headed for a hard landing. Pre-tax [...]
Standard Life reports slip in first half pre-tax profits and earnings per share August 8, 2013 Standard Life is the second major insurer to report a boost in operating profits this morning, with group pre-tax operating profits up six per cent to £304m (release). However, pre-tax profits slipped 6.6 per cent to £281m. Basic earnings per share was also down to 3.5p from 5.5p. Operating profits were boosted by a 28 [...]
Aviva announces turnaround as operating profits hit £1bn August 8, 2013 Aviva has embraced its turnaround as first half operating profits tops a billion pounds thanks to sales increases in key markets despite weakness in Italy and Spain (release). Pre-tax operating profits rose to £1.008bn from £959m in the first half of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012. Basic earnings per share was 22.8p [...]
Before the open – 08/08 August 8, 2013 The Nikkei erased early gains late last night after the Japanese Cabinet Office’s Eco Watchers Survey revealed a bleaker-than-expected view of the economy and its outlook. The survey came in at 52.3 for the current view of the economy and 53.6 for the short-term outlook – below the respective 53.5 and 54.1 predictions. Markets were [...]
Unexpected fall in imports results in cheap trade surplus win for Germany August 8, 2013 Germany’s trade surplus came in at a better-than-expected €15.7bn in June following an unexpected fall in imports and weak export growth. Analysts had expected to see a surplus of €14.9bn following the previous month’s surplus of €14.1bn. Imports fell by 0.8 per cent month-on-month from a revised 1.4 per cent growth the month before. Analysts [...]
Debate heats up over future of London airports August 8, 2013 THE FUTURE of London’s airport capacity will move back into the spotlight this week as Heathrow prepares to make a fresh push to build a third runway, and Boris Johnson moves to distance himself from plans to build an airport in the Thames Estuary. Heathrow is expected to tell the government’s aviation commission that it [...]
VIDEO: Bank of England governor explains forward guidance policy August 7, 2013 Here's Bank of England governor Mark Carney explaining the forward guidance policy he announced earlier.
Vodafone to lure customers onto new 4G service with sport and music services August 7, 2013 Vodafone has announced it will be launching its high speed 4G service on the same day as rival O2 on 29 August. The operator will be looking to get the edge on its rival by offering 150 hours of Premier League football from Sky Sports or music from online streaming service Spotify Premium – as [...]
Fitch affirms AAA rating for Germany assuming strong growth and no more contributions to eurozone crisis mechanisms August 7, 2013 Ratings agency Fitch has affirmed Germany’s rating as “AAA” with a stable outlook (release). Fitch said the affirmation reflects a number of factors including: The government has overachieved on some key fiscal targets, beating its target for headline fiscal balance for the second consecutive year in 2012 with a surplus of 0.2 per cent of [...]