Market News News Page 11

As reported by the BBC, Australian surf gear maker Billabong has declined a takeover bid from TPG Capital, saying it is still in talks with the investment group. TPG had offered 765 million Australian dollars (A$3 per share), which Billabong called too low. Billabong has watched its fortunes shrink in recent years thanks to falling global...

As reported by the BBC, Credit Agricole has announced a huge loss for the three months before New Year 2012, attributing the decline to its exposure to the Greek crisis. France's third-biggest bank lost 3.1 billion euros (£2.59bn; $4.1bn), rising 9.4% from the same period during 2010. It lost 1.1 billion euros total in 2011. French rivals...

The globe’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has announced its rising quarterly profits following a solid holiday season. For the three months leading up to 31 January, Wal-Mart churned a net profit of $5.2 billion (£3.3bn), rising 3.4% in comparison to the same quarter in 2011. But the figures did not match market hopes and its shares...

As reported by the BBC, American carmaker General Motors generated record profits during 2011 but showed huge losses for its European operations. The company made a net profit of $7.6 billion (£4.85bn) during the year, a 62% jump from 2010. However, the company lost $700 million in Europe, including its UK Vauxhall factories in Luton and...

As reported by the BBC, Billabong shares have gone up by over 60% as the firm announced a restructuring scheme after TPG Capital offered a takeover bid from. Billabong’s shares surged as much as A$2.93 (up from A$1.79) at the Australia Securities Exchange. The firm will sell off a stake of its Nixon brand, shut down unprofitable stores...

As reported by the BBC, for the first time ever, shares in technology firm Apple have exceeded $500 per stake. This marks an astonishing turnaround for the company, whose shares were in 1997 worth as low as $3.19, when it confronted the possibility of bankruptcy. The firm is now worth $460 billion. The firm’s revival by Steve Jobs, who...

As reported in the BBC, Barclays has announced a 3% drop in revenues to £5.9 billion for 2011, affected by a downturn in its investment bank division. The bank also reported that the bonus pool in the investment banking arm was down by 32% to £1.5 billion last year. As a news conference, CEO Bob Diamond declined to talk about his own...

Carmaker Toyota has raised its annual profits forecast, stating its recovery is on target following the blow of the Japanese tsunami, the strong yen and Thai floods. The company made a 80.9 billion yen profit ($1.05 billion; £660 million) between October - December, a drop of 13.5%. However, it raised its yearly profit forecast to 200...

As reported by the BBC, lower commodity prices are pushing down profits for BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company. The Anglo-Australian firm reported a 5.5% yearly fall in first-half revenues to $9.9 billion (£6.2 billion). The company also forewarned of a turbulent future citing Europe's debt crisis and a slowing Chinese...

Australia’s largest investment bank Macquarie Group has said it anticipates that full year profits will fall by 25 per cent because a weak market is affecting its business, reports the BBC. Its investment and trading banking operations were the most severely hit, said the company in a statement. The bank’s shares dropped five per cent...