Financial News Headlines

Casino hires advisers for bid

July 29th, 2010

SINGAPORE – FRENCH retailer Casino has hired Deutsche Bank and RBS to advise it on a potential bid for Carrefour’s Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand assets, two sources told Reuters.

Carrefour has put up its Southeast Asian assets for sale at a potential price of $1 billion, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.

It wants to sell its units in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand and focus on core markets where it holds leading positions. Casino ‘is serious about’ bidding for the Carrefour business, said one of the sources with knowledge of the deal.

The sources asked not to be named because the deal is not public.

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Tags: Bid

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Sands profit tops estimates

July 24th, 2010

ATLANTA – LAS Vegas Sands Corp, the casino operator run by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday, as revenue was aided by strong performance in Macau and Singapore.

Sands, which opened a US$5.7 billion (S$7.8 billion) casino resort in Singapore in April, had earnings of US$129.3 million, or 17 US cents a share, for the second quarter after adjusting for items. That compared with US$8.8 million, or 1 US cent a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average expected of 9 US cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters. Net revenue rose nearly 51 per cent to US$1.59 billion.

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Tags: Sands, Sands Profit

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US stocks down ahead of tests

July 20th, 2010

NEW YORK – US STOCKS are falling modestly as investors sorted through the latest batch of earnings and prepared for results from the European bank stress tests.

The latest round on Friday were more mixed than a day earlier when strong profit reports sent stocks sharply higher.

Microsoft, American Express and Ford all reported upbeat earnings, but Amazon and Kimberly-Clark disappointed.

The European bank stress test results could remove some uncertainty about how mounting government debt in many European countries could affect the continent’s financial sector.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.11, or 0.3 per cent, to 10,347.27.

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Tags: Tests

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Kumba seeks other iron ore buyers

July 17th, 2010

Kumba Iron Ore may look for other domestic buyers to take extra ore if ArcelorMittal’s South African unit shuts down one of its plants, Business Report newspaper said on Monday.

The South African arm of the world’s largest steel maker said on Friday it may close its 1,2-million-tonne Saldhana plant and cut all exports after it failed to reach a deal with Kumba over ore prices.

Kumba, a unit of of global miner Anglo American, is the world’s tenth-largest producer of iron ore.

In February it terminated a long-term deal under which it sold ore to ArcelorMittal at a discount, saying it would sell at market rates from March. Read more…

Tags: Buyers, Iron Ore

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May retail sales climb, jury out on rates

July 12th, 2010

South African retail sales rose more than expected in May, growing for the fifth month in a row ahead of the soccer World Cup, but leaving analysts divided on next week’s interest rate decision.

Consumer spending has generally lagged the broader economic recovery as households’ indebtedness remains close to record highs and after the recession last year caused the loss of a million jobs.

But Statistics South Africa said retail sales rose 4,6% in May year-on-year, accelerating from downwardly revised 2,9% growth in April and outpacing forecasts for a 3,7% rise.

The central bank will decide on interest rates on July 22, some two weeks after cautious comments on the economic outlook from governor Gill Marcus.

“The current low interest rate environment and the slowly improving levels of consumer confidence … Read more…

Tags: Retail Sales, Sales

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Unions accept Eskom offer ‘in principle’

July 8th, 2010

Eskom’s three unions have “in principle” accepted the power utility’s latest wage offer, they said on Friday.

Solidarity, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) said their members were happy with Eskom’s 9% wage increase and R1 500 housing allowance, but that they had not signed the deal yet.

Eskom initially offered an 8,5% wage increase and a R1 000 housing allowance. The unions had wanted a nine percent wage increase and a R2 500 housing allowance, and threatened to strike if their demands were not met.

Solidarity’s Jaco Kleynhans said the union had been mandated by its members to accept the offer.

“We haven’t signed yet. Th Read more…

Tags: Principle

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