UK-Russia pact reviewed after Ukraine unrest March 25, 2014 THE UK government confirmed yesterday that it is reviewing a cooperation agreement with Russian state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom due to the ongoing political crisis in Ukraine. “[The UK] and Rosatom signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing a programme of commercial cooperation in civil nuclear energy in September last year,” said a spokesperson from [...]
Centrica buys Irish firm as UK review looms March 25, 2014 CENTRICA yesterday said that together with two investment firms, it has agreed to buy Bord Gais Energy (BGE), in a long-speculated deal that will pump €1.1bn (£920m) into the Irish government’s coffers and mark the energy giant’s first foray into the neighbouring market. The FTSE 100 firm will buy BGE’s gas and electricity supply business [...]
BP’s US refinery leaks oil into half a mile of Lake Michigan March 25, 2014 WITH the legacy of the infamous Gulf of Mexico disaster still lingering around BP, the company confirmed yesterday that an unknown amount of oil had leaked from its Whiting refinery into Lake Michigan. The leak occurred on Monday at 4.30pm because of a “disruption in the refining process”, the FTSE 100 oil giant said, but [...]
Shareholders vote in favour of F&C takeover March 25, 2014 F&C ASSET Management is on the verge of becoming a subsidiary of Canadian lender Bank of Montreal after shareholders yesterday voted through the £708m takeover deal. Almost all of F&C’s shareholders that voted – approximately 99.6 per cent – supported the deal. The owners of 58 per cent of the company’s shares voted. The F&C [...]
Struggling RSA sets out £773m share issue plan March 25, 2014 TROUBLED insurer RSA has announced plans for a £773m share issue to tackle major losses. The company, which hired ex-RBS boss Stephen Hester in February this year, said the rights issue will help it to shore up its capital position, after expensive weather-related claims and a £200m black hole was discovered in its Irish business. [...]
Bottom Line: Hester is ready to move on from the past March 25, 2014 JUST two months into his new job as chief executive of insurer RSA, Stephen Hester is certainly making his presence felt. Alongside a cost cutting programme and planned asset disposals, the former RBS boss yesterday unveiled details of the £773m rights issue that he’s hoping investors will back – at a discount of 40 per [...]
Public pension burden much higher than official estimate March 25, 2014 THE GOVERNMENT’S colossal public sector pension liabilities are even larger than they suggest, according to an alarming estimate by a campaign group. The Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) says that the official estimate for the liability, which runs to £1.1 trillion, is only two thirds of the real burden. According to Neil Record, who conducted the research, [...]
Twitter spat as Bakries and Rothschild split March 25, 2014 TROUBLED coal miner Asia Resource Minerals (ARM) yesterday confirmed that it has completed a long-awaited separation from its co-founders the Bakrie family and will return at least $400m (£242m) to shareholders. The FTSE 250-listed firm, which was formerly known as Bumi, has been at the centre of an arduous dispute between Indonesia’s Bakrie family and [...]
Panmure stems the tide with first profit since financial crisis March 25, 2014 FINANCIAL firm Panmure Gordon reported encouraging full-year figures yesterday, helped by the ongoing revival in stock markets. The firm, which is working on the listing of Horizon Discover due tomorrow, reported its first statutory profit since 2007. “What we’ve done is try to put the firm back on track,” chief executive Phillip Wale told City [...]
Aldermore enters securitisation market in £330m mortgage deal March 25, 2014 CHALLENGER bank Aldermore is selling off £330m of prime residential mortgages in its first ever securitisation, the lender said yesterday. The bank wants to reduce its reliance on the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) and raise funds to increase its lending volumes. Mortgage-backed securities got a bad name in the financial crisis [...]