MPs call for more transparency on state contract bids March 13, 2014 THE PUBLIC Accounts Committee (PAC) today called for more transparency on companies bidding for government work, but businesses warned that the extra costs could squeeze out smaller competitors. In a new report, the PAC demanded an extension of the freedom of information act (FOI), access rights for the National Audit Office and requested private firms [...]
BP’s Deepwater ban on US government contracts abolished March 13, 2014 OIL GIANT BP will once again be able to bid for new contracts with the US government, ending the ban that resulted from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned BP from pitching for new government contracts in November 2012 after BP pleaded guilty to criminal charges relating to [...]
Inside Track: Investors: How best to avoid being shut out on listings March 13, 2014 CITY folk often have long memories and until very recently there was an average chance that if a private equity group tried to bring a company to market it would be hit by a barrage of cynicism. The disappointing performance of several stocks in the noughties, including Debenhams, ensured that for a good while whenever [...]
Biggest float in Denmark for 20 years as ISS lists March 13, 2014 DANISH cleaning and services firm ISS swept onto the Copenhagen stock market yesterday in the largest share float in the Nordic country since 1994. Shares in the company climbed 15 per cent on their debut yesterday morning after being priced at 160 Danish crowns (£17.88) per share, the midpoint of the range. The offering, which [...]
Shell slashes US spend as shale fails to deliver March 13, 2014 THE FORMER chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell had his pay halved last year in light of the oil giant’s “disappointing” performance, as the FTSE 100 firm unveiled its plans to slash its US upstream spending by 20 per cent. Peter Voser, who stepped down at the end of 2013, took home £7.2m, down from [...]
Premier warns investors: More defaults will happen in China March 13, 2014 A STRING of disappointing figures about the Chinese economy were released yesterday, while the country’s Premier, Li Keqiang, warned it is “unavoidable” that there will be more large-scaled defaults on bonds. “We are reluctant to see defaults of financial products, but some cases are hard to avoid,” Li said. “We have been paying great attention [...]
Bottom Line: This is the end of the big four supermarkets March 13, 2014 DALTON Philips kicked off more than just a price war yesterday. By promising to slash prices in an effort to turn around Morrisons’ fortunes, he also exposed a growing schism at the heart of the British grocery market. For years, supermarket analysts have talked about the big four (Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons) but with [...]
Insurance giants deliver £20bn hit to F&C funds March 13, 2014 FUND manager F&C yesterday said it still faced “financial headwinds” after the pot of money it manages shrank due to big redemptions by insurance investors. The business, which is currently in the midst of a takeover by finance giant Bank of Montreal, said assets under management fell 14 per cent after its insurance clients pulled [...]
Analyst Views: Do the F&C results change your view of the proposed takeover? March 13, 2014 MICHAEL SANDERSON | SOCIETE GENERALE F&C has made progress on its strategic repositioning. However, we move our rating from ‘buy’ to “hold” as see a relatively limited probability of another bidder emerging at this point, and even if another bidder were to emerge, we would not expect a counter offer to be as high as [...]
Profit down 12 per cent at Bupa after a year of big acquisitions March 13, 2014 HEALTH insurer Bupa has announced a 12 per cent drop in pre-tax profits for 2013, down to £514.4m despite growing its customer base by 57 per cent. The group posted an eight per cent increase in revenue to £9.1bn, the first time in Bupa’s history that it has exceeded £9bn. Chief executive Stuart Fletcher said [...]