Oriflame workers detained in Iran

23 August 2010 Last updated at 07:20 ET

Iranian authorities have closed the Tehran operations of Oriflame Cosmetics and detained five workers, the Swedish firm has said.
The reasons for the move were disputed, with Tehran alleging fraud and Oriflame saying the authorities disliked it employing women in certain roles.
Last week, Iran’s commerce and culture ministries called the company illegal and blocked its local internet site.
Oriflame said the move could be because it employs women as sales consultants.
According to a statement on the company’s website on Monday, “business conditions in Iran have deteriorated in recent months”.
The statement continued: “The authorities have now closed operations in Tehran. The authorities have also detained three members of staff and two sales consultants without disclosed reasons.
“Oriflame has not at present access to detailed information relating to the background to, or effects of, the current situation.”
In Tehran, state radio reported that the company had violated tax regulations and custom law, and operated an illegal marketing scheme.
An an Iranian newspaper, Kayhan, accused the company of supporting opposition members in Iran.
In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, Oriflame’s chief financial officer, Gabriel Bennet, rejected the allegations.
“Of course this is not true. We are running a business in Iran like anywhere else in the world, according to good international code of conduct,” he said.
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Hewlett-Packard shares regain ground after Hurd’s exit

Investors attempted to establish whether H-P will be damaged by the departure of its leader of the past five years, or whether the sell-off created a buying opportunity.
“Many senior executives fail. So you don’t know whether someone is going to be good in the seat until they’re in the seat for six to 12, sometimes 24 months… So that’s the risk,” said Louis Miscioscia, an analyst at Collins Stewart.
Tom Smith, Standard & Poor’s equity analyst, cut his recommendation on H-P shares from “strong buy” to “buy”, saying the events of the past 72 hours added uncertainty.
But Citigroup reiterated its “buy” recommendation, saying Mr Hurd’s cost-cutting programme has put the company in a good position.
H-P has begun the hunt for a new chief executive, with chief financial officer Cathie Lesjak currently standing in.
Internal names in the frame include Vyomesh Joshi, who runs H-P’s printer business, and Todd Bradley, who runs its personal computer arm. Ms Lesjak has ruled herself out. John Joyce, a technology-focused private equity specialist who sits on H-P’s board, has also been tipped as a possible contender.
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Hewlett-Packard boss Mark Hurd quits after sexual harassment inquiry

Shares in HP fell as much as 10pc on the news in extended after-hours trading, in spite of the company pre-announcing better-than-expected second quarter sales of $30.7bn (£19.3bn).
Michael Holston, HP’s general counsel, admitted to Bloomberg that Mr Hurd had “demonstrated a profound lack of judgment”, but the investigation, conducted by external lawyers and Mr Holston, found that he had not breached the company’s sexual harassment policy.
Mr Hurd said: “As the investigation progressed, I realised there were instances in which I did not live up to the standards and principles of trust, respect and integrity that I have espoused at HP.”
He is to be replaced as chief executive on an interim basis by Cathie Lesjak, HP’s chief financial officer. A board committee, which includes Marc Andreessen, the founder of Netscape, and Larry Babbio, former president of Verizon, has been set up to find a permanent replacement, after Ms Lesjak ruled herself out.
Mr Hurd is believed to have come to a severance agreement ahead of his resignation, with speculation that he may receive as much as $40m.
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Ryanair profits hit by ash cloud

20 July 2010
Last updated at 02:46 ET

Ryanair’s first-quarter net profits have fallen by 24% to 93.7m euros ($122m, £80m) because of the volcanic ash disruption earlier this year.
The airline said the Icelandic ash cloud had caused it to cancel almost 10,000 flights at a cost of 50m euros.
However, Ryanair said it was on course to meet profit forecasts for the year.
It expects to see profits rise by between 10-15% to more than 350m euros once the impact of the flight cancellations is stripped out.
Ash from an Icelandic volcano shut down much of Europe’s airspace for 18 days in April and May.
Howard Miller, Ryanair’s chief financial officer, told the BBC that the authorities had handled the event badly.

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Ryanair’s first-quarter net profits have fallen by a quarter because of the volcanic ash disruption earlier this year.

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Google profits rise by 24% but share price drops 4%

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 10:57 AM on 16th July 2010

Google’s second quarter profits rose by 24 per cent to £1.1 billion, the internet search giant reported yesterday. Revenues increased at the same rate to £4.4 billion. But stock fell by four per cent in after-hours trading as analysts had been expecting stronger results.

Rise: Google reported second quarter profits were up 24 per cent

They also expressed concern about the company’s increased operating expenses.
Ending a period of restraint, Google has been spending more freely this year as the US economy recovers. 

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Ocado plans to sell £400m of shares in flotation

Ocado delivers Waitrose products and last month agreed a new 10-year deal with
the upmarket supermarket chain, owned by John Lewis, making a flotation more
attractive to potential investors.

Michael Grade, Ocado’s chairman, said: “The team at Ocado has achieved an
extraordinary feat in building a business from scratch to be one of the most
recognised brands in UK retail.”

The company will use £45m of the proceeds from the issue of new shares to pay
down debt. It also plans to build a second distribution centre.

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BA in pension deal with trustees

BA said the agreement was a “significant and positive step forward”

British Airways has reached agreement with its pension trustees on a plan to reduce its £3.7bn pension deficit.

BA said the plan would avoid the closure of its two final-salary pension schemes.

The airline reached an agreement with its trade unions on the pension changes in March.

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BP set for overhaul as it seeks cash to pay for oil spill crisis

“It has now become impossible to put a figure on how much it will cost BP, but
the company does at least have many restructuring options open to it – from
asset sales to juggling around joint ventures,” says David Wilton, a partner
at restructuring firm BTG Mesirow.

One thing is for sure: post-oil spill, BP will look very different to the
£123bn company that last year overtook the traditionally dominant Royal
Dutch Shell to become Europe’s largest oil company. The most noticeable
consequence is that BP will be a much smaller, less fighting-fit company for
some time, according to analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“[The accident] will materially erode BP’s competitive advantage versus peers
for the foreseeable future,” they say, leaving its rivals like shell and
Exxon hungry to profit.

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Time for investors to act up over Prudential’s Asian misadventure

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Who pays the price for that, you ask? Nobody, apparently. “No one has
offered to resign and no one has been asked to resign,” is the
£500,000-a-year chairman’s take on the current situation. Why not start at
the top, Harv? You know, set an example.

Put it down, perhaps, to all that time frazzling the brain over embedded value
and the new solvency II regs – but something suggests the Pru’s board just
doesn’t get it. Which is why, you hope, they’ll have a better idea after
Monday’s annual meeting at London’s QEII centre.

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Burberry eyes expansion after robust results

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:09 PM on 26th May 2010

Shares in Burberry rose on Wednesday as the luxury goods group posted better than expected results, boosted by new stores and an online marketing drive. The firm, famous for its camel, red and black check pattern, said profits before tax jumped by 23 per cent to £215million for the year to the end of March, beating City forecasts of £205million. Retail sales increased by 19 per cent to £748.8million, accounting for 58 per cent of total sales following the opening of 21 outlets in the year and the closure of nine.

Male appeal: Luxury group Burberry aims to step up growth in menswear

‘We do believe that Burberry, distinct from what’s happening in the
marketplace, has got specific momentum in the brand right now,’ Stacey
Cartwright, the group’s chief financial officer said. 

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