Skip to main navigation or content
■ Like for like sales were up 1.3% at pub group Mitchells & Butlers during the nine weeks to 20 September, while same outlet food sales rose 3.6% and drinks sales by 0.3%.
■ Carpet retailer Carpetright said it remains cautious about its expectations for the full year due to low levels of consumer confidence and the deterioration in the housing and financial markets.
■ InterContinental Hotels says revenue per available room (RevPAR) for all its brands was flat in the Americas during August.
■ Schools IT specialist RM's trading during the year so far has been consistent with management's expectations for the year as a whole.
Continues below....
Advertising
■ Profit on ordinary activities before tax and exceptional items jumped nearly 10% to £11.1m at soft drinks group AG Barr during the first half.
■ Cake-maker Finsbury Foods reported a 68% rise in full-year pre-tax profit and said it is well equipped to deal with the challenges it faces.
■ Accident claim handler Helphire posted a small rise in full year adjusted pre-tax profit as it warned the difficult trading conditions and cost pressures in the early part of the new financial year have remained challenging.
■ Sports fashion retailer JD Sports bucked a weak consumer trend to lift profits by over 70% in the half year to August.
■ Solar panel group Solar Integrated has cut its revenue estimates for this year due to uncertainty over the future of US tax breaks on solar roofing.
■ Hazardous waste management company and bid target Augean is confident of meeting full year expectations despite a big drop in underlying profit before tax.
■ Mexican silver miner and recent FTSE100 entrant Fresnillo has upped its stake in rival miner MAG Silver to 14.7% through the acquisition of 5m shares at C$5.31.
■ Tate & Lyle is to appeal an inital ruling that went against the sugar group in a patent-infringement case against manufacturers and importers of Chinese sucralose, a generic version of Tate's Splenda.
MARKETS:
For latest market data, see our markets console. For market reports, see the Markets page.
BANKING CRISIS - LATEST FROM THE US:
One of Washington’s senior senators urged the US government last night to block the $700 billion (£378 billion) rescue package for the banks. Senator Richard Shelby, the leading Republican on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, said in a statement that the Treasury’s proposal was “neither workable nor comprehensive”.
Fears that the intense political haggling will delay a vote and put a stop to the entire bailout triggered renewed sell-offs across equity and currency markets on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday, reports the Times.
Investors owning Lehman Brothers bonds face potential losses of nearly $110bn, reflecting the sharp reductions in the value of assets that are likely to be left to be paid out to creditors. In the week since Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank in the US, filed for bankruptcy, the value of its bonds has plummeted, reports the FT
BANKING CRISIS - LATEST FROM THE UK:
The billions of pounds paid out in bonuses to City workers each year could come increasingly with strings attached if the Financial Services Authority (FSA) gets its way. Supervisors at the City regulator have started to scrutinise bank bonus schemes in the past few weeks to see whether they might encourage reckless behaviour. Those banks that fail to come up to scratch will have to reform their bonus arrangements or will be obliged by the FSA to hold additional capital, writes the Times.
Alistair Darling on Monday announced an "urgent review" of banking regulation and a minister admitted the government had failed to impose sufficient controls on the City. The chancellor told Labour’s conference in Manchester he had asked Lord Turner, new chairman of the Financial Services Authority, to look at the regulatory system and draw lessons from the turmoil that has hit world markets, reports the FT.
Three of Britain's biggest banks have been asked to prepare for "national service" by taking over Bradford & Bingley if a buyer for the struggling lender cannot be found.According to banking sources close to the authorities, a contingency plan is being drawn up to rescue B&B if it is threatened with a run on the bank. HSBC, Barclays and Santander – the Spanish owner of Abbey that is buying Alliance & Leicester – have been asked to play a role, reports the Telegraph.
OTHER HEADLINES:
Hedge funds could have an unprecedented level of cash pulled out by investors this quarter, according to insiders, just as they faced millions of pounds of losses from last week's shock regulation of short selling, reports the Independent.
Short-sellers switched their attention from banks to consumer companies yesterday in response to the Financial Service Authority's decision to ban short-selling of financial shares and are said to have switched into consumer shares, targeting the housebuilders such as Taylor Wimpey and pub companies such as Enterprise, says the Telegraph.
The only way to access our daily share tips, analysis and profit making tools is with an IC Advantage subscription which starts from just £12.50 per month. Purchase yours here.
Subscribe to IC Advantage today, access starts from just £12.50
Use the links below to find key market data and portfolio functionality. Registration (free) may be required for some services.
© The Financial Times Limited 2009. All rights reserved. "Investors Chronicle", "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of The Financial Times Limited. No part of these web pages may be reproduced or transmitted to or stored in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the editor.
Warning: Do remember, particularly if you are new to stock market investment that the prices of shares and other investments can fall sharply. You may not get back the money you originally invested. The material here is for general information only and is not intended to be relied upon for individual investment decisions. Take independent advice before making such decisions. This site is aimed at UK residents only. To read more please see our Important Warning
-IC-1.9.0c-prod - 15/05/2009 11:00:33 - stuart.turner
