Today's other stories in brief
A source close to Icelandic investment firm Exista has denied a newspaper report that the company had bought 8 per cent of food group Greencore and was planning a takeover bid.
"They haven't bought an 8 per cent stake in Greencore, and they don't intend to buy Greencore," the source said.
Exista declined to comment on a report which said the firm had hired Deutsche Bank to advise on any bid.
The source was unable to say whether individual Exista board members had built holdings in Greencore.
Shares in the company closed almost 1 per cent stronger yesterday at €4.09, having reached €4.28 in early trade. - (Reuters)
US shoppers turn to Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart stores posted better-than-expected fourth quarter profits yesterday as cost-conscious US shoppers scoured its discount stores for low prices on necessities like food to offset tough economic conditions.
The world's largest retailer, which has cut prices to try to win sales in the tough environment, acknowledged that the economic situation remained "challenging", and it gave a first-quarter and full-year earnings forecast that could come in below Wall Street's expectations.
Net income rose 4 per cent to $4.096 billion, or $1.02 per share, for the three months to January 31st, from $3.94 billion, or 95 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding the items, Wal-Mart reported earnings of $1.04 per share, above analysts' average estimate of $1.02 per share. - (Reuters)
Higher reserves at PetroNeft
PetroNeft Resources has announced an increase in reserves on Licence 61 at Tomsk Oblast in the Russian Federation following completion of an independent reserves audit of the area by Ryder Scott Petroleum Consultants.
The company said that, "following the successful exploration and appraisal programme undertaken in Licence 61 during 2007, PetroNeft's net proved and probable (2P) oil reserves as of January 1st, 2008, increased by 81 per cent to 60.6 million barrels.
"Proved (1P) oil reserves increased to 6.7 million, and proved plus probable plus possible (3P) reserves increased to 350.1 million barrels."
A total of three oil fields and 26 prospects were included in the report.
Barclays report €7.1bn profit
Barclays yesterday acknowledged it is facing a more difficult operating environment as it set out cautious growth targets for the next four years.
The British bank, which has been the subject of speculation about its exposure to the credit turmoil, reassured investors by reporting pre-tax profits of £7.1 billion for last year, in line with its performance in 2006.
Barclays' reported losses on its exposure to credit securities of £1.6 billion in the year - much lower than some of its rivals - though this included a £658 million gain due to the revaluation of debts. - ( Financial Times service)
Big swings in Kerviel's positions
Jerome Kerviel's positions at Société Générale in 2007 swung between a loss of €2.2 billion and a gain of €1.46 billion, court documents show. Mr Kerviel's bets are blamed by SocGen for a trading loss of €4.9 billion, the biggest in banking history.
"I don't understand how this went unnoticed," said Richard Cordero, deputy head of the French Association of Treasurers in Paris.
The 10-page document, a summary of an investigation by the Paris appeals court obtained by Bloomberg, shows while internal controls picked up the operations , Mr Kerviel produced fake hedges or promised to unwind positions. -(Bloomberg)
