European cable operator Altice announces $1bn share sale plan January 7, 2014 ALTICE, a multinational cable and telecoms provider, yesterday outlined its intention to float on NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam. The company’s executive chairman Patrick Drahi, as well as other members of the management team, will sell sufficient shares to leave the group with a free float of around 25 per cent. Currently Drahi and some other [...]
Drugmaker Eli Lilly expects 2014 earnings in line with forecasts January 7, 2014 ELI LILLY yesterday forecast its profit will fall by up to one-third this year, as cheaper generic forms of its Zyprexa schizophrenia treatment and Cymbalta depression drug hurt results, but the outlook was in line with expectations. The US drugmaker said it expects earnings, excluding special items, at $2.77 to $2.85 per share in 2014. The [...]
Insurer says disasters caused less death and damage during 2013 January 7, 2014 NATURAL catastrophes like floods and storms claimed more than 20,000 lives and caused around $125bn (£76bn) in damage worldwide in 2013, well below the average of the last decade, reinsurer Munich Re said yesterday. The world’s largest reinsurer said Supertyphoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines, China and Vietnam in November, was probably the strongest tropical [...]
Boris and his ‘Nick’ names January 7, 2014 Nick Clegg got an unfortunate 47th birthday present from Boris Johnson yesterday when the mayor implied that the deputy PM was little more than David Cameron’s condom. Employing his usual linguistic flair, the London mayor called Clegg a, “lapdog-cum-prophylactic protection device" on LBC radio. He prefixed it with, “I don’t want to get into some [...]
Amec wins £255m Kuwait project January 7, 2014 International engineering and project management company Amec has won a £255m consultancy contract with Kuwait Oil Company. The five-year agreement renews a decade-long working relationship between the companies. “The contract is further evidence of our success in this strategically important region”, said Alan Armstrong, Amec’s Operation Directors in Kuwait. Nonetheless, shares in the company closed [...]
Costain boosts its order book January 7, 2014 FTSE-listed engineering firm Costain yesterday said it expects full-year results to be in line with forecasts thanks to an order book of £3bn – up 25 per cent. Over £750m of work has been secured for this coming year, the company said in a trading update. “Our continued success is the direct result of our [...]
BAE names new boss for US wing January 7, 2014 British defence contractor BAE Systems has appointed Jerry DeMuro to head its US business, pinning its hopes on the former General Dynamics executive to steer it through military cuts in Washington DC that are set to bite over the next decade. DeMuro, who will begin as president and chief executive of the US unit on [...]
City Moves for 8 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 7, 2014 Markel The insurance company has announced the appointment of Maren Modena as a senior risk analyst in its trade credit division. She was most recently at Euler Hermes UK, where she worked for nine years as a senior risk underwriter. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management The asset and wealth management business has recruited Michael Lee as [...]
Best of the Brokers for 8 January 2014 January 7, 2014 SEVERN TRENT JP Morgan downgraded the water company to underweight, reducing its price target from 1,680p to 1,535p ahead of the regulator’s announcements on financial parameters. The brokers believe regulatory risks will rise, slimming the chances of mergers and acquisitions until Ofwat’s final decision. ITV Jefferies has raised ITV from a hold to a buy [...]
London Report: Investors take punt on banks to drive FTSE up January 7, 2014 THE UK’S blue chip share index rose to a one-week high yesterday, with gains in financial stocks pushing the FTSE 100 towards major technical resistance levels. Lloyds rallied three per cent, as investors bought the stock on expectations that the bank will start paying dividends this year and that it will benefit from a recovering [...]