UBS set to make 'modest profit'

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AppId is over the quota
4 October 2011 Last updated at 07:13 GMT Oswald Gruebel UBS's former chief executive resigned over the rogue-trading loss. Swiss bank UBS said it will make a small profit in the third quarter despite losing $2.3bn (￡1.5bn) through unauthorised trading.

When it first discovered the alleged fraud, it warned it might report a loss for the three months to the end of September.

But the bank has said in a statement: "UBS expects to report a modest net profit for the group."

Former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli is accused of fraud and false accounting.

The 31-year-old City of London-based trader was remanded in custody until 20 October.

The bank said it now expected a small profit even after taking into account losses from the incident, as well as 400m francs ($435m, ￡270m) worth of restructuring charges linked to its cost-cutting programme.

But the bank said that its strength buffer - the so-called Tier 1 capital ratio - was expected to be slightly down on the second quarter because of the losses due to the trade.

The former chief executive of Swiss bank UBS Oswald Gruebel resigned over the rogue-trading loss.

The bank is also undergoing a major shake-up which will see it shrink its investment banking division to reduce its risks.

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Deutsche will miss profit target

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AppId is over the quota
4 October 2011 Last updated at 10:42 GMT Continue reading the main story Deutsche Bank says it will miss its profit target for the year as it takes impairment charge of 250m euros (￡215m, $330m) on its Greek government debt holdings.

Germany's biggest bank also said it would cut 500 jobs, mainly outside its home market.

Deutsche Bank's statement comes as fears continue to rise about the health of the eurozone.

Shares in the bank were down 5.8% in trading in Frankfurt.

Deutsche Bank's chief executive, Josef Ackermann, told an investors' conference in London there had been a "significant and unabated slowdown in client activity".

But he added that banking business not related to sovereign debt was robust.

"We are confident that the classic banking businesses - private clients, asset management and global transaction banking - as a whole will deliver their best pre-tax profit ever."

Deutsche's profit was previously expected to be around 10bn euros.

Data from Reuters shows that since September, half the 34 analysts that follow Deutsche Bank have revised their full-year earnings estimate down by an average of 10.3% to around 7.72bn euros, including one-off charges, and corporate investments.

Deutsche Bank itself had excluded these from its target definition.

Its latest reported net profits for the three months to 30 June were 1.2bn euros ($1.8bn; ￡1bn), 6% higher than a year earlier.

At the time it revealed it had needed to write down 155m euros from the value of its Greek government bonds.

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Wolseley returns to annual profit

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AppId is over the quota
4 October 2011 Last updated at 07:19 GMT Wolseley said weaker economic forecasts would have an impact on its markets Building and heating materials group Wolseley has returned to a full-year profit in 2010-11.

The group suffered when the housing market was hit during the recession, but said it had focused on improving its "customer, product and vendor mix".

Wolseley reported a pre-tax profit of ￡391m in the year to July, compared with a ￡328m loss a year earlier.

It said markets were broadly stable but there had been "no strong rebound in activity after the recession".

Revenues rose 3% to ￡13.6bn.

The group also took a ￡39m charge on its Bathstore and BCG brands in the UK, "reflecting a deterioration in the outlook for retail markets".

It added that in the current environment, it remained cautious about its cost base.

"Recent economic forecasts have weakened, and over time this is likely to have an impact on our markets," said chief executive Ian Meakins.

The company has been selling off units as part of a disposal strategy over the past 18 months.

In July, it sold its French distribution division Brossette and British Build Center business to France's Saint-Gobain for ￡310m.

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Supergroup facing £9m profit hit

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AppId is over the quota
5 October 2011 Last updated at 15:59 GMT Continue reading the main story Shares in clothing firm Supergroup have fallen by a quarter after it said problems at a distribution warehouse would hit profits by between ￡6m and ￡9m.

The company behind the Superdry brand said the problems had seen a "reduction both in the amount of stock and range of sizes reaching its UK stores".

The firm said the problems centred on an upgrade to its Gloucester warehouse.

Supergroup's shares ended the day 30% lower at ￡7.07.

In a management statement, the firm said it estimated "the total cost of this isolated event, including the additional temporary warehousing capability and resulting lost sales will impact the current year's profitability by between ￡6m and ￡9m".

Supergroup, which is based in Cheltenham, also said its stock levels would increase by ￡2m.

Analysts believe the problem will add to a range of difficult factors facing the firm, including the tough consumer climate, a weak August and the unseasonably warm September weather discouraging the purchase of autumn clothes.

In July, Supergroup said that profits for the year to May had jumped by 110% to ￡47.3m.

Supergroup floated its shares on the London Stock Exchange in March 2010, at a price of ￡5 per share.

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