EasyJet reports record numbers during August September 4, 2014 BUDGET airline EasyJet yesterday reported it had flown a record number of passengers in August, with 6.6m travellers on its aircraft – 8.4 per cent more than the same month last year. EasyJet’s load factor — how full the company’s planes are — was at more than 94 per cent, another record for the airline [...]
Profits soar at Go-Ahead with more rail routes September 4, 2014 RAIL and bus group Go-Ahead yesterday saw its share price jump 3.17 per cent as it reported record passenger numbers across its services. Pre-tax profits for the year to 28 June soared to £91.2m, up 44 per cent from £63.1m in the first half of 2013, as revenue rose to £2.7bn, up five per cent [...]
Genel Energy share price slips as dry oil well off Angola is plugged September 4, 2014 Genel Energy, the oil explorer and producer, yesterday saw its shares slip 1.1 per cent as it revealed it would abandon an offshore Angola well after finding no oil and gas from test drilling. The London-listed firm said the Dilolo-1 exploration well on Block 39 offshore Angola, in which Genel has a 7.5 per cent [...]
Argentina legal plot moves to its lower house September 4, 2014 ARGENTINA’S senate yesterday passed a bill aimed at circumventing US court decisions regarding its defaulted debt by changing payment jurisdiction, sending the proposal to the lower house chamber of deputies for final approval. The chamber, like the senate, is controlled by government allies who are expected to vote the bill into law. Debate in the [...]
Advertising giant WPP buys up a slice of Brazil with Try acquisition September 4, 2014 Advertising agency WPP yesterday announced it had acquired a majority stake in Cairos Usabilidade Eireli, a Brazil-based development agency known as Try. Described by WPP as “a user experience agency that designs and develops custom web, mobile, desktop and touch-enabled applications”, Try employs 22 people and has a number of high profile clients. WPP said [...]
Burford Capital almost doubles earnings after stronger returns September 4, 2014 BURFORD Capital yesterday announced promising half-year financial results after a bond issue and new semi-annual dividend. The litigation finance firm, chaired by former Barclays chief Sir Peter Middleton, said pre-tax profits rose 89 per cent for the six months ending June to $18.2m (£11.1m). “This period has been a transformative one for the business with [...]
City Moves for 05 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 4, 2014 Savills The real estate services firm has announced the appointment of Rupert Phelps to establish a new family office services practice. He joins from BNY Mellon, where he was director of family office services. Phelps has also held senior roles at Euromoney, UBS Global Asset Management and Merrill Lynch. Berwin Leighton Paisner The law firm [...]
Best of the Brokers for 05 September 2014 September 4, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com WOLSELEY BS has kept its valuation at “neutral” but raised the target price to 3,500p from 3,320p. The broker believes a special dividend payment is likely this year to be around £200m, and thinks the strength of US operations will offset a slowdown [...]
London Report: Draghi decision helps FTSE rise but BP tanks September 4, 2014 BRITAIN’S top shares rose yesterday after the European Central Bank cut interest rates and announced plans to buy assets in a bid to shore up Eurozone inflation. However, steep falls in BP capped gains. BP shares fell 5.9 per cent to 455p, suffering their biggest one-day percentage drop since June 2010, after a judge in [...]
New York Report: Wall St closes lower after initial gains September 4, 2014 US STOCKS lost early gains yesterday and turned negative to close modestly lower, dropping from earlier highs that saw the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average hit new intraday record highs. Gains were initially fuelled by moves the European Central Bank took to stimulate the struggling Eurozone economy and continued signs of improvements [...]