Finance Matters » 2009 http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters When Finance Matters Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:17:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 en hourly 1 Co-operative pays record £50m dividend http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5784/co-operative-pays-record-50m-dividend/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5784/co-operative-pays-record-50m-dividend/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:56:05 +0000 David Masters http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=19758 The Co-operative Group has announced a record dividend payment of £50 million after posting its highest ever profit in 2009.
The five million members of the Co-operative Group will share in the £50.4 million payout, with an average payment of £9.88 per member.
This is a 30% increase on last year’s dividend payment of £38.8 million.
The group [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5784/co-operative-pays-record-50m-dividend/feed/ 0 Troubled UK Coal reports full-year loss http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/4519/troubled-uk-coal-reports-full-year-loss/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/4519/troubled-uk-coal-reports-full-year-loss/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:35:38 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=18457 The UK’s biggest coal producer, UK Coal, has today reported increased losses for the 2009 year due to a fall in production and lower coal prices.
The company said pre-tax losses grew to £129.1 million for the full year, against a loss of £15.6 million the previous year.
Meanwhile, revenues plunged by 20% to £316 million [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/4519/troubled-uk-coal-reports-full-year-loss/feed/ 0 WTO sees pick up in world trade after 2009 slump http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3483/wto-sees-pick-up-in-world-trade-after-2009-slump/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3483/wto-sees-pick-up-in-world-trade-after-2009-slump/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:35:31 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=17880 The World Trade Organisation (WTO) said it expects to see a strong recovery in world trade this year after experiencing the sharpest decline in over seven decades.
According to the WTO, world trade fell by 12.2% last year as the economic crisis resulted in a slump in consumer confidence and dented demand.
The world’s wealthiest economies such [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3483/wto-sees-pick-up-in-world-trade-after-2009-slump/feed/ 0 Defaqto “impressed” by Co-operative growth http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3280/defaqto-%e2%80%9cimpressed%e2%80%9d-by-co-operative-growth/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3280/defaqto-%e2%80%9cimpressed%e2%80%9d-by-co-operative-growth/#comments Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:25:18 +0000 David Masters http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=17715 The Co-operative bank saw a 38% growth in bank accounts over the past 12 months.
Despite the recession, the ethical bank reported double digit growth in bank account sales for the third year running.
Current account balances in 2009 were 21% higher than in 2008, the bank said.
The company also reported a “marked increase” in customers transferring [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3280/defaqto-%e2%80%9cimpressed%e2%80%9d-by-co-operative-growth/feed/ 0 Co-op profits boosted by Somerfield takeover http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3102/co-op-profits-boosted-by-somerfield-takeover/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3102/co-op-profits-boosted-by-somerfield-takeover/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:01:36 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=17623 Britain’s largest mutually-owned retailer, the Co-operative Group, has today posted “record sales and profits” for the 2009 year after its acquisition of Somerfield and its merger with the Britannia building society.
The group said underlying operating profits before significant items soared 20% to £473 million over the year, while revenue was £13.7 billion.
Meanwhile, the [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3102/co-op-profits-boosted-by-somerfield-takeover/feed/ 0 Year-end improvement in mortgage arrears and repossessions http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3080/year-end-improvement-in-mortgage-arrears-and-repossessions/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3080/year-end-improvement-in-mortgage-arrears-and-repossessions/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:21:14 +0000 Gill Montia http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=17617 In its latest round-up of UK mortgage statistics, the Financial Services Authority has reported a fall in the number of homeowners in arrears.
In the final quarter of 2009, 378,000 households were behind with their monthly repayments (at a level equivalent to 1.5% of their outstanding balances).
The figure is down 4% on the previous quarter [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/3080/year-end-improvement-in-mortgage-arrears-and-repossessions/feed/ 0 Northern Rock sees losses narrow http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2803/northern-rock-sees-losses-narrow/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2803/northern-rock-sees-losses-narrow/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:18:19 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=17401 State-owned bank Northern Rock has today announced losses for the 2009 year fell to £258 million, compared with £1.36 billion in the previous year.
Despite the loss, the Newcastle-based bank said it is awarding staff £14.9m in bonuses but Gary Hoffman, the chief executive of Northern Rock, is waiving his payout.
Northern Rock said Mr Hoffman’s long-term [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2803/northern-rock-sees-losses-narrow/feed/ 0 Persimmon reports strong forward sales book http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2579/persimmon-reports-strong-forward-sales-book/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2579/persimmon-reports-strong-forward-sales-book/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:54:11 +0000 Gill Montia http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=17231 Persimmon Homes managed 8,976 legal completions in 2009, compared with 10,202 in 2008, with an average selling price of £160,513 (down from £172,994 last year).
However, Britain’s largest house builder says it has a strong forward sales book of around £900 million, up 29% on 2008.
Ninety new sites are scheduled to open in the first half [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2579/persimmon-reports-strong-forward-sales-book/feed/ 0 Standard Chartered profits surge 13% http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2556/standard-chartered-profits-surge-13/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2556/standard-chartered-profits-surge-13/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:50:41 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=17208 London-based bank Standard Chartered today announced a rise in pre-tax profits – meeting analysts expectations.
The bank, which has a strong presence in Asia, said pre-tax profits in 2009 were £3.4 billion ($5.15 billion), a rise of 13% on 2008 figures.
Meanwhile, revenue was up 9% to £10.14 billion ($15.18 billion).
However, while many other banks have opted [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2556/standard-chartered-profits-surge-13/feed/ 0 Ombudsman complaints continue to rise http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2328/ombudsman-complaints-continue-to-rise/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2328/ombudsman-complaints-continue-to-rise/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:22:50 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=17062 In its second six-monthly set of complaints data relating to individual financial firms, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has today said complaints rose by 18% in the second half of 2009.
According to the FOS, it received 82,136 complaints between 1 July and 31 December 2009 – a rise of 12,295 compared with the first half [...]

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