Angola LNG plant needs huge rebuild September 22, 2014 ANGOLA’S liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant faces a lengthy closure and massive reconstruction work to fix design flaws and corrosion of its nearly-new equipment, which will add at least $12bn (£7.3bn) to the project’s cost. US oil group Chevron, its biggest shareholder, accepted there were design problems with the project, which began production last year [...]
Laying down the law on M&A and sell offs September 22, 2014 LAW FIRM of the year The past year has seen law firms work with the government and banks on the selling of shares and on the investigations into alleged failings at big companies. Against that backdrop lawyers have also started to benefit from the upturn in the M&A and financing markets, beefing up their private [...]
City Moves for 23 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 22, 2014 Baker & McKenzie Gillian Coyle has been appointed London HR director at the law firm. She joined in 2010 as the head of the HR business partner team, and previously spent 12 years at Deloitte. Coyle will also serve on Baker & McKenzie’s London Management Committee. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management Astrid Manroth has been appointed [...]
Best of the Brokers for 23 September 2014 September 22, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com PETROFAC Barclays has upgraded to “overweight” from “equal weight”, with the target price kept at 1,500p. Barclays says while Petrofac’s Great Stella development needs to come on-stream, its record order backlog will likely ensure strong growth in the years ahead, with significant upside [...]
London Report: Tesco’s woes and miners’ China fears drag down market September 22, 2014 SHARES in giant retailer Tesco tumbled yesterday 11.5 per cent to 203p – their lowest in 11 years – because of fears that first-half profits were overstated by around £250m, dragging down the FTSE 100. The blue-chip index was off 64.29 points, 0.94 per cent, at 6,773.63 points. Supermarket rivals Morrison and Sainsbury’s were hit [...]
New York Report: Housing data hits Wall St September 22, 2014 American shares yesterday closed lower, with the S&P 500 suffering its biggest one-day fall since early August as the latest housing data came in much weaker than expected, raising new concerns about the level of growth in the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 104.01 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 17,175.73, the S&P [...]
Scottish independence referendum: Claims of vote rigging lead to petitions demanding recount September 22, 2014 Claims of vote rigging durig the Scottish independence referendum have led to calls for a recount. Over 88,000 people signed a petition at change.org entitled "We the undersigned demand a revote of the Scottish Referendum, counted by impartial international parties." The accusations of vote rigging centre around videos and photos shared on social media that [...]
Phones 4u announces it is to close remaining 362 stores and make 1,697 staff redundant September 22, 2014 After going into administration, mobile phone retailer administrators working with Phones 4u have announced that there has not been enough interest to save the company's remaining 362 stores. All told, 1,697 people will lose their jobs. EE had already agreed to buy 58 stores while Vodafone said on Friday that it was buying 140. The [...]
Ed Miliband to announce mansion tax to improve NHS health and social care September 22, 2014 Ed Milliband is set to announce a "mansion tax" to fund new an NHS spending increase. In a speech tomorrow to party activists in Manchester the Labour leader will announce the plan to tax properties worth more than £2m, with the proceeds paying for improvements in health and social care. With the election fast approaching, Miliband [...]
UK private equity firm drops ISIS name September 22, 2014 UK private equity firm ISIS Equity Partners has decided it no longer wants to share a moniker with the violent terrorist group operating in Syria in Iraq. The firm say it will reveal a new brand in the "coming weeks". Earlier this month a mobile wallet maker called Isis also decided to change its name [...]