Written on July 16, 2011 by Wiley Hayden
Australian investment banker Macquarie Group is expected to slash up to one-thousand jobs amidst a slowdown in M&A activity and tepid global market conditions.
The Australian newspaper reported that the chiefs of each of the company’s principal units are reviewing staffing levels in order to cut costs ahead of an anticipated decline in revenues.
Macquarie’s chief executive officer, Nicholas Moore, reportedly may issue a reduced profit outlook at the firm’s annual meeting in Sydney next week.
Last week, an analyst at Citigroup, Wes Nason, said: “Data on announced M&A [mergers & acquisitions] indicate that market share loss continues [for Macquarie[ and the post-bonus exodus of staff appears to have also continued across all major geographies, meaning we are not expecting a near-term recovery of revenues." Get More IBTimes
Nason suggested that by cutting 1,000 jobs, or 6.4 percent of its workforce, it could climb back on its feet.
"While it has not been Macquarie's historic path, in order to sustain competitive remuneration and help to restore returns to industry standards, some selective reduction of staff [say 1,000] probably needs to occur,” said Nason.
Nomura analyst Victor German told The Australian that a significant number of workforce reductions may come from the bank’s investment banking division Macquarie Capital.
“If conditions don’t start to improve in the short to medium term, Macquarie’s investment banking workforce is arguably too large,” German said.
“Macquarie appears to have already reduced staff numbers in its investment banking division. If co
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Written on July 16, 2011 by Julia Woodard
Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) reported a 22% rise in profit to $151.8 million in the second quarter of 2011 from $124.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share (EPS) in the reported quarter was 96 cents, up 23% from 78 cents per share delivered in the comparable quarter last year. Quarterly EPS also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7 cents.
Total sales in the quarter grew 12% to $3.18 billion, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.12 billion, driven by improvements across all its businesses and favorable conditions in the aftermarket. Operating profit also increased 18% to $264.6 million, despite a rise in selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A). SG&A increased 9% to $651.6 million during the quarter.
Sales in the Automotive Parts segment grew 9% to $1.59 billion, the Industrial Parts segment rose 19% to $1.05 billion, the Office Products Group expanded 4% to $418.0 million and the Electrical segment soared 28% to $136.8 million.
Genuine Parts had cash and cash equivalents of $516.7 million as of June 30, 2011 compared with $411.9 million in the year-ago period.
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Posted in Financial Planning | Comment Now!
Written on July 16, 2011 by Wiley Hayden
Posted in Financial Consultant | Comment Now!
Written on July 15, 2011 by Julia Woodard
Central Bank News has just launched a central bank meeting calendar; compiling the scheduled monetary policy meeting dates of 25 of the worlds central banks for the rest of 2011 on a single page. The central banks featured in the table span the key developed market banks such as the US Federal Reserve, the ECB, and also features many key emerging market central banks such as the Banco Central do Brasil, Bank Indonesia, and others. The central bank monetary policy meeting calendar complements the other central banking resources available on the Central Bank News website.
The launch of the central bank calendar follows on from the global central bank interest rate table, and the inflation targets table. Along with those resources and the central bank website directory, an additional table on currency regimes has also been added to the site. Central banks are often tasked with managing the stability of their currency, or even using it as a key tool e.g. Sing
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Written on July 15, 2011 by Cheryl Rankins
Because new cars tend to lose value rapidly, the conventional wisdom is that it usually makes more sense to buy a used vehicle instead of a new one. But is this rule of thumb always true? Has it changed in the past few years? That’s what Lily wants to know. She writes:
Time Moneyland recently reported that used vehicle prices have hit a 16-year high. On the radio, car companies are asking people to trade in their used cars because their inventory is low. When I look at used cars, I can’t believe how much they’re selling for. For example, one car dealer is selling a 2010 Honda Civic LX with 44,000 miles for $17,575!
If I were to buy a new Honda Civic (with no miles, without any discounts, and using only the features I care about), its MSRP would be $17,715 (including destination charge) for a 2012 version! (Or $18,925 MSRP for the DX.) I keep hearing that if you want to save money, you should only buy a used car. But i
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Posted in Financial Glossary | Comment Now!