BP and Transocean shares shrug off oil spill report January 6, 2011 SHARES in BP and Transocean have risen in trading despite the publication of the US Presidential panel report that spreads the blame for the country’s worst-ever oil spill. Investors are betting that the companies will avoid a highly costly gross negligence charge in spite of the report’s findings. BP’s London-listed shares were up one per [...]
Renault says spy scandal put assets at risk January 6, 2011 THE SCANDAL over suspected industrial espionage at Renault has deepened as the French carmaker warned company assets were at risk and France’s industry minister called the matter serious. Renault suspended three executives on Monday, including a member of its management committee, after an “ethical alert” was sent to the group’s compliance committee in August. Renault’s [...]
EU proposes new rules for bondholders to share bank failures January 6, 2011 THE European Union’s executive has proposed a blueprint that could force those who lend to banks to bear big losses should they fail. The proposal, which could become law by 2013, would end the privileged position of these creditors, who were left untouched when the banks they lent to failed, while shareholders, taxpayers and governments [...]
Euro zone confidence on the up January 6, 2011 Euro zone economic sentiment jumped to a 38-month high in December pointing to healthy growth in the last quarter of 2010, but also to a growing divergence between core and peripheral euro zone countries. A monthly survey by the European Commission showed the economic sentiment in the 16 countries using the euro in December rose [...]
Lenders expect stable credit conditions January 6, 2011 Lenders expect credit conditions to remain broadly steady in the first quarter of 2011 but are bracing for a further drop in mortgage demand and slightly higher losses from mortgage defaults, a survey by the Bank of England showed. The central bank’s quarterly credit conditions survey highlights the continued reluctance among banks to extend credit [...]
Service sector activity plunges to 20-month low January 6, 2011 Large swathes of the service sector suffered their first fall in output since April 2009 last month, a major survey showed on Thursday, pointing to a sharp slowdown in economic growth at the end of 2010. GDP probably grew by just 0.4 per cent in the last three months of 2010, lower than many economists [...]
British Land pays £240m for Plymouth mall January 6, 2011 British Land, the second-biggest landlord by market value, has bought a mall in Plymouth for £240m to add to its growing retail portfolio. The 425,000 square feet Drake Circus shopping centre was bought at a net initial yield of six percent, with the potential for income growth through asset management, the real estate investment trust [...]
Costain raises Mouchel bid offer to £150m January 6, 2011 Construction firm Costain has made an increased all-share offer approach to struggling business services group Mouchel, valuing the company at about £150m. Costain said it would offer 0.5947 new shares for each Mouchel share. The offer values each Mouchel share at about 135 pence per share, based on Wednesday’s closing prices. In December, Mouchel rejected [...]
Rathbone Bros sees assets under management climb January 6, 2011 Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers said total funds under management at 31 December were up by 19.3 per cent to £15.63bn. That compares with £13bn at the same point in 2009. “Provided that the deficit reduction measures now being implemented in the UK and elsewhere do not precipitate a “double-dip” recession, Rathbones can look forward with [...]
Mothercare issues profit warning January 6, 2011 Mothercare has issued a profit warning after the snow hit its UK business. Like-for-like sales in the last three months of 2010 dropped four per cent as the freezing conditions caused “widespread disruption”. Toy sales were hardest hit after the firm cut off Christmas online orders early to ensure delivery. Chief executive Ben Gordon said: [...]