In an interim management statement today, banking giant Barclays said profits climbed 5% in the third quarter – boosted by cost-cutting measures. For the three months to the end of September, the bank said pre-tax profits were £1.34 billion, versus £1.27 billion for the same period a year earlier. However, revenues for the three month [...]
Debenhams, which is Britain’s second largest department store after John Lewis, has today exceeded market expectations after reporting growth of 0.4% in the nine week period to the end of August on a like-for-like basis. The retailing giant said aggressive summer discounting and promotions had helped increase its market share. The company said growth came [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is regarded as a barometer of British retailing, has reported a marginal increase in sales and said trading conditions are “extremely challenging”. The renowned employee-owned chain, which owns the Waitrose supermarket chain, said sales rose 1% on a like-for-like basis in the six month period to 30 July. However, across [...]
Housebuilder Bovis has today reported profits more than doubled in the six months to the end of June as a result of cost-cutting and rising house prices. The company said pre-tax profits surged to £8.1 million in the six month period compared with £3.5 million in the same period a year earlier, while revenue rose [...]
Banking giant Lloyds Banking Group has today said its first half profits were hit by costs relating to its mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). The controversial insurance has been a hot topic for some time now and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) introduced a review of the insurance after millions of policies were mis-sold [...]
London-based emerging markets bank, Standard Chartered, has today posted half-year pre-tax profits of $3.6 billion (£2.2 billion) – a rise of 17% compared with the same period a year ago. The figures represented its ninth consecutive first half of record profits and beat expectations of $3.47 billion. The bank, which has a strong presence in [...]
Banking giant Barclays is the latest bank to report its half-year profits and announce job losses. The bank said pre-tax profits came in at £2.6 billion for the six months to the end of June, down one third from the same period a year ago. However, chief executive Bob Diamond said he was pleased with [...]
Banking giant HSBC has today announced plans to shed 25,000 jobs by 2013 after reporting a rise in half-year profits. The bank, which is Europe’s largest, has already unveiled 5,000 job cuts, 700 of which are in the UK. HSBC has a global workforce of 335,000 worldwide, with 52,000 in the UK. It said the [...]
Spanish banking giant Santander has today revealed its first half profits were hit by costs relating to its mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). The controversial insurance has been a hot topic for some time now and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) introduced a review of the insurance after millions of policies were mis-sold and [...]
US banking giant Citigroup reported a 24% rise in second quarter profits as losses were reduced from bad loans. The bank, which is in the third largest in the US, reported net income of $3.34 billion (£2.07 billion) in the three month period to the end of June. The results beat market forecasts and represented [...]
The US banking reporting season has got off to a good start today after JP Morgan reported a 13% increase in profits to $5.4 billion (£3.3 billion) – exceeding analysts’ expectations. Furthermore, revenues were 7% higher in the three months to the end of June at $27.4 billion. The good performance comes despite losses from [...]
Music, books and games retailer HMV has today reported a pre-tax profit of £28.9 million in the 12 months to the end of April – a fall of 61% compared with the £74.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Furthermore, like-for-like sales have dived 11% over the past year as it struggles with [...]
Carpetright has today added to the doom and gloom surrounding the retail sector by announcing a 70% fall in annual profits. The company blamed “very challenging trading conditions” after profits for the year to 30 April came in at £6.6 million – down from £22.3 million a year ago. Meanwhile, annual revenues were down 6% [...]
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has again revised its forecasts for the airline industry. The forecasts have been revised on the back of surging oil prices, according to the industry body, and could force some airlines out of business. Many airlines went bust when fuel prices rose in 2008. Oil prices reached a peak [...]
Wolseley, which is the world’s largest supplier of plumbing and heating equipment, today reported a 30% rise in third quarter operating profit. The company, which was badly hit by the housing market downturn, said strong revenue growth in the US helped to offset weaker trading in the UK. The plumbers’ merchant said profits for the [...]
British retailing giant Marks & Spencer (M&S) has today reported a 13% rise in annual profits to £714.3 million. Meanwhile, international sales grew 6.1%, while sales in the online operation rose 31%. However, despite the positive figures, the 127-year-old retailer which sells clothes, food and homewares, said the coming year will be challenging due to [...]
The Lloyd’s of London insurance market today said natural disasters will cost it in the region of £2.4 billion ($3.8 billion). The recent catastrophes including the flooding in Australia, the New Zealand earthquake, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, means insurance prices will soar as claims eat into the industry’s capital reserves. The company said the [...]
Budget airline easyJet has today revealed pre-tax losses for the six months to 31 March swelled to £153 million, compared with a loss of £79 million in the same period a year earlier. The no-frills airline attributed the loss to rising fuel costs and the challenging economic environment. Jet fuel costs continue to rise due [...]
British banking giant Barclays has today announced a fall in pre-tax profits for the first quarter. The bank said profits were 9% lower at £1.66 billion due to a 15% fall in revenues at Barclays Capital. Today’s results were lower than analysts expectations. However, profits from its retail and business banking operations rose by 21% [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
