News Tag: Q1
May 28, 2009
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has announced that in the first quarter of 2009, the number of problem banks in the US soared 40% to a 15-year high.
The FDIC said the number of banks with financial difficulties in the three-month period soared to 305, which represents the highest number since 1994 and follows on from the 252 reported during the ...
Problem banks soar in the US
by Kay Murchie
May 22, 2009
Figures released today by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that spending by British households fell by 1.2% in the first three months of 2009 - the largest fall since 1980.
According to the ONS, the only positive contribution to growth was Government spending.
In addition to the fall in household spending, the ONS said compensation for employees (wages and ...
British household spending in biggest fall since 1980
by Kay Murchie
May 11, 2009
Banking giant HSBC has today announced that pre-tax profit in the first quarter of 2009 was down compared with the same period in 2008, due to higher bad debts.
However, the bank received $6.6 billion (£4.4 billion) from the higher book value of its debt, which meant its profits at the underlying level increased.
The bank, which is Europe’s largest, described its results ...
Bad debt soars at HSBC
by Kay Murchie
May 8, 2009
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has today reported a pre-tax loss of £44 million for the first quarter of 2009, against a profit of £479 million for the same three month period in 2008.
Meanwhile, the bank wrote off £4.9 billion during the period while post-tax losses totalled £857 million.
At the end of February the bank, which is now majority-owned by ...
RBS posts £44m loss for Q1
by Kay Murchie
May 5, 2009
UBS, which is Switzerland's largest, bank, has reported a first quarter loss of SwFr1.98 billion (£1.2 billion).
The bank said the losses were attributed to write-downs on risky investments. However the loss was less than the SwFr9.5 billion reported for the fourth quarter of 2008.
The Swiss bank is among one of the worst hit victims of the sub-prime crisis due ...
UBS reports first quarter loss of SwFr1.98bn
by Kay Murchie
April 29, 2009
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has followed rival firm BP and announced a sharp fall in quarterly profits as oil prices fall and demand weakens.
Profit for the first quarter plunged to $3.3 billion (£2.24 billion), down 58% compared with the same period in 2008 and represents a 31% fall compared with the fourth quarter of last year.
Oil reached a ...
Shell quarterly profit hit by falling oil prices
by Kay Murchie
April 28, 2009
Friends Provident, the life insurer, has experienced a 40 percent fall in life and pension sales for the first quarter of 2009 to £109 million, as the recession has put off potential customers in saving for the future.
Following the reported results, shares in Friends Provident lost 8 percent.
In a bid to rectify losses, the company withdrew from less profitable areas ...
Sales at Friends Provident down by 40%
by Peter Charalambous
April 25, 2009
For the first time in over 23 years, Microsoft has experienced its first ever year-on-year decline and the fall in sales is expected to continue for at least another three months.
However, investors had feared that the company’s results could have been worse.
Net profit at Microsoft fell by 32 percent to $2.98bn as revenue fell by 6 percent compared to the ...
Microsoft experiences first quarterly fall in profits
by Peter Charalambous
April 23, 2009
The world's biggest package delivery company, United Parcel Service (UPS), has announced a severe fall in profits for the first quarter as fewer parcels are being sent during the global economic downturn.
The group reported a 55% drop in profits for the period, compared with the same period in 2008, while revenue declined by 14% to $10.9 billion from $12.7 billion.
The results ...
UPS announces 55% fall in profits
by Kay Murchie
April 22, 2009
As the government has been preparing the budget for jobs, it has been revealed that unemployment in the UK reached 2.1 million in the first quarter and last month signalled the 13th consecutive rise.
Just prior to the budget, the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics showed that a further 177,000 jobs have been lost, marking a ...
UK unemployment rises to 6.7% in first quarter
by Peter Charalambous
April 20, 2009
The run of good luck is continuing among US banks as Bank of America is the latest to exceed analysts expectations after it made a net profit of $4.24 billion for the three months ending 31 March - almost triple that of a year ago of $1.21 billion.
The bank, which is the largest in the US by assets, said revenues ...
Bank of America Q1 profits beat expectations
by Kay Murchie
April 17, 2009
Citigroup has today boosted the stock market by announcing its first quarterly net profit in almost two years.
The bank made a profit of $1.6 billion (£1.1 billion) for the first three months of 2009, compared to a loss of $5.1 billion in the last three months of last year, while revenues rose 99% to $24.8 ...
More good news for US banks as Citigroup reports profit of $1.6bn
by Kay Murchie
April 15, 2009
Switzerland's largest bank, UBS, is to wield the axe on another 8,700 jobs.
Oswald Gruebel, the chief executive appointed to restore the bank’s reputation, said the bank will become smaller and there will be cuts.
The jobs are set to go by next year in a major cost-cutting programme after the bank announced losses of SwFr2 billion (£1.2 billion) for the three months ...
Thousands more job losses at UBS
by Kay Murchie
March 31, 2009
Britain’s largest clothing retailer, Marks & Spencer (M&S), has reported a 4.2% fall in like-for-like sales for the three months ending March 28.
The decline compares with a 7.1% fall in the previous quarter and exceeded City expectations. However, it is the sixth consecutive quarter that the group has reported a drop in revenue.
The High Street has suffered recently ...
M&S report fall in sales but beats expectations
by Kay Murchie
