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With milder temperatures expected to continue in the northern parts of the US over the next few days at least, analysts have said the price of oil may fall further - even if the decline was only temporary. "Weather has been the Achilles' heel of this market," said ABN AMRO analyst John Brady. "But it is winter in the n... |
Weak end-of-year sales hit Next |
Next has said its annual profit will be £5m lower than previously expected because its end-of-year clearance sale has proved disappointing. |
"Clearance rates in our end-of-season sale have been below our expectations," the company said. The High Street retailer said it now expected to report annual profits of between £415m and £425m ($779m-798m). Next's shares fell more than 3% following the release of the trading statement. |
Next chief executive Simon Wolfson admitted that festive sales were "below where we would expect a normal Christmas to be", but said sales should still top analyst expectations. |
Among areas where Next could have done better, Mr Wolfson said menswear ranges were "a little bit too similar to the previous year". Mr Wolfson also said that disappointing pre-Christmas sales were "more to do with the fact that we went in with too much stock rather than (the fact that) demand wasn't there for the stoc... |
Overall sales across both its retail and mail order divisions were up 12.4%, Next said. Its Next Directory mail order division saw sales rise 13.4% during the five-month period. "In terms of all the worries about their trading pre-Christmas, it's a result," said Nick Bubb, an analyst at Evolution Securities. "Profits o... |
Tate & Lyle boss bags top award |
Tate & Lyle's chief executive has been named European Businessman of the Year by a leading business magazine. |
Iain Ferguson was awarded the title by US publication Forbes for returning one of the UK's "venerable" manufacturers to the country's top 100 companies. The sugar group had been absent from the FTSE 100 for seven years until Mr Ferguson helped it return to growth. Tate's shares have leapt 55% this year, boosted by firm... |
"After years of a sagging stock price and a seven-year hiatus from the FTSE 100, one of Britain's venerable manufacturers has returned to the vaunted index," Forbes said. Mr Ferguson took the helm at the company in 2003, after spending most of his career at consumer goods giant Unilever. Tate & Lyle, which was an origi... |
Deutsche Boerse set to 'woo' LSE |
Bosses of Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange are to meet amid talk that a takeover bid for the LSE will be raised to £1.5bn ($2.9bn). |
Last month, the German exchange tabled a 530 pence-per-share offer for LSE, valuing it at £1.3bn. Paris-based Euronext, owner of Liffe in London, has also said it is interested in bidding for LSE. Euronext is due to hold talks with LSE this week and it is reported to be ready to raise £1.4bn to fund a bid. Euronext chi... |
The LSE rejected Deutsche Boerse's proposed £1.3bn offer in December, saying it undervalued the business. |
But it agreed to leave the door open for talks to find out whether a "significantly-improved proposal" would be in the interests of LSE's shareholders and customers. In the meantime, Euronext, which combines the Paris, Amsterdam and Lisbon stock exchanges, also began talks with the LSE. In a statement on Thursday, Euro... |
According to the FT, in its latest meeting Deutsche Boerse will adopt a charm offensive to woo the London exchange. The newspaper said the German suitor will offer to manage a combined cash and equities market out of London and let Ms Furse take the helm. Other reports this week said the Deutsche Boerse might even cons... |
High fuel prices hit BA's profits |
British Airways has blamed high fuel prices for a 40% drop in profits. |
Reporting its results for the three months to 31 December 2004, the airline made a pre-tax profit of £75m ($141m) compared with £125m a year earlier. Rod Eddington, BA's chief executive, said the results were "respectable" in a third quarter when fuel costs rose by £106m or 47.3%. BA's profits were still better than ma... |
To help offset the increased price of aviation fuel, BA last year introduced a fuel surcharge for passengers. |
In October, it increased this from £6 to £10 one-way for all long-haul flights, while the short-haul surcharge was raised from £2.50 to £4 a leg. Yet aviation analyst Mike Powell of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein says BA's estimated annual surcharge revenues - £160m - will still be way short of its additional fuel cost... |
It also reported on Friday that passenger numbers rose 8.1% in January. Aviation analyst Nick Van den Brul of BNP Paribas described BA's latest quarterly results as "pretty modest". "It is quite good on the revenue side and it shows the impact of fuel surcharges and a positive cargo development, however, operating marg... |
US interest rate rise expected |
US interest rates are expected to rise for the fifth time since June following the US Federal Reserve's latest rate-setting meeting later on Tuesday. |
Borrowing costs are tipped to rise by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.25%. The move comes as a recovery in the US economy, the world's biggest, shows signs of robustness and sustainability. The dollar's record-breaking decline, meanwhile, has spooked markets and along with high oil prices has raised concerns about... |
The Fed has said that it will move in a "measured" way to combat price growth and lift interest rates from their 40-year lows that were prompted by sluggish US and global growth. |
With the economic picture now looking more rosy, the Fed has implemented quarter percentage point rises in June, August, September and November. Although the US economy grew at an annual rate of 3.9% in the three months to September, analysts warn that Fed has to be careful not to move too aggressively and take the win... |
Weak dollar trims Cadbury profits |
The world's biggest confectionery firm, Cadbury Schweppes, has reported a modest rise in profits after the weak dollar took a bite out of its results. |
Underlying pre-tax profits rose 1% to £933m ($1.78bn) in 2004, but would have been 8% higher if currency movements were stripped out. The owner of brands such as Dairy Milk, Dr Pepper and Snapple generates more than 80% of its sales outside the UK. Cadbury said it was confident it would hit its targets for 2005. "While... |
The modest profit rise had been expected by analysts after the company said in December that the poor summer weather had hit soft drink sales in Europe. |
Cadbury said its underlying sales were up by 4% in 2004. Growth was helped by its confectionery brands - including Cadbury, Trident and Halls - which enjoyed a "successful" year, with like-for-like sales up 6%. Drinks sales were up 2% with strong growth in US carbonated soft drinks, led by Dr Pepper and diet drinks, of... |
Continental 'may run out of cash' |
Shares in Continental Airlines have tumbled after the firm warned it could run out of cash. |
In a filing to US regulators the airline warned of "inadequate liquidity" if it fails to reduce wage costs by $500m by the end of February. Continental also said that, if it did not make any cuts, it expects to lose "hundreds of millions of dollars" in 2005 in current market conditions. Failure to make cutbacks may als... |
Airlines have faced tough conditions in recent years, amid terrorism fears since the 11 September World Trade Centre attack in 2001. But despite passengers returning to the skies, record-high fuel costs and fare wars prompted by competition from low cost carriers have taken their toll. Houston-based Continental now has... |
Mixed Christmas for US retailers |
US retailers posted mixed results for December - with luxury retailers faring well while many others were forced to slash prices to lift sales. |
Upscale department store Nordstrom said same store sales were 9.3% higher than during the same period last year. Trendy youth labels also sold well, with sales jumping 28% at young women's clothing retailer Bebe Stores and 32.2% at American Eagle Outfitters. But Wal-Mart only saw its sales rise after it cut prices. The... |
Customers at the world's biggest retailer are generally seen to be the most vulnerable to America's economic woes. |
Commentators claim many have cut back on spending amid uncertainty over job security, while low and middle-income Americans have reined in spending in the face of higher gasoline prices. Analysts said Wal-Mart faced a "stand-off" with shoppers, stepping up its discounts as the festive season wore on, as consumers waite... |
One discount retailer to fare well in December was Costco Wholesale, which continued a recent run of upbeat results with a better-than-expected 8% jump in same store sales. However, the losers were many and varied. Home furnishings store Pier 1 Imports saw its same store sales sink by a larger-than-forecast 8.8% as it ... |
Steady job growth continues in US |
The US created fewer jobs than expected in December, but analysts said that the dip in hiring was not enough to derail the world's biggest economy. |
According to Labor Department figures, 157,000 new jobs were added last month. That took 2004's total to 2.2 million, the best showing in five years. Job creation was one of last year's main concerns for the US economy. While worries still remain, the conditions are set for steady growth in 2005, analysts said. The une... |
"It was a respectable report," said Michael Moran, analyst at Daiwa Securities. |
"Payroll growth in December was a little lighter than the consensus forecast, but we had upward revisions to the prior two months and an increase in manufacturing employment." "Manufacturing is a cyclical area of the economy and if it's showing job growth, it's a good indication that the economy is on a solid growth tr... |
Job creation was one of last year's main concerns for the US economy, and proved to be a main topic of debate in the US presidential election. While demand for workers is far from booming, the conditions are set for steady growth. "Overall, compared to the previous year it looks great, it just keeps going stronger and ... |
Barclays shares up on merger talk |
Shares in UK banking group Barclays have risen on Monday following a weekend press report that it had held merger talks with US bank Wells Fargo. |
A tie-up between Barclays and California-based Wells Fargo would create the world's fourth biggest bank, valued at $180bn (£96bn). Barclays has declined to comment on the report in the Sunday Express, saying it does not respond to market speculation. The two banks reportedly held talks in October and November 2004. |
Barclays shares were up 8 pence, or 1.3%, at 605 pence by late morning in London on Monday, making it the second biggest gainer in the FTSE 100 index. UK banking icon Barclays was founded more than 300 years ago; it has operations in over 60 countries and employs 76,200 staff worldwide. Its North American divisions foc... |
UK Coal plunges into deeper loss |
Shares in UK Coal have fallen after the mining group reported losses had deepened to £51.6m in 2004 from £1.2m. |
The UK's biggest coal producer blamed geological problems, industrial action and "operating flaws" at its deep mines for its worsening fortunes. The South Yorkshire company, led by new chief executive Gerry Spindler, said it hoped to return to profit in 2006. In early trade on Thursday, its shares were down 10% at 119 ... |
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