Saras swings back to profit August 10, 2010 Italy’s third-biggest oil refiner Saras, squeezed by weak refining margins, yesterday said it was cutting production by more than 10 per cent to shore up profit. Saras is also more than halving capital spending this year to help keep debt under control, said chief financial officer Corrado Costanzo. The oil price rally to $80 (£50.8) [...]
ICBC eyes £889m spend to take Hong Kong unit private August 10, 2010 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s most valuable bank, yesterday said it will pay shareholders of its Hong Kong arm a 27 per cent premium to take it private, as part of an effort to expand its presence there. Each ICBC (Asia) shareholder would receive HK$29.45 (£2.4) per share, ICBC said in [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 10, 2010 SMITH & NEPHEW Evo Securities rates Smith & Nephew shares a “buy” with a price target of 695p. In a note in which its analysts speculate over what the company plans to do with the cash it is generating, Evo sees strong earnings growth and inventory efficiency as key factors driving future cash generation. ATH [...]
NAB happy to maintain status quo in the UK August 10, 2010 National Australia Bank (NAB) yesterday said it was happy with the status quo in the UK and any acquisitions it made there would have to meet its financial criteria. NAB chief executive Cameron Clyne also told analysts there were no immediate plans to change the mortgage rate despite rising funding costs. NAB’s UK operations – [...]
Hannover Re hit by pricing pressure fear August 10, 2010 Hannover Re yesterday joined a wave of European insurance players reporting forecast-beating results as rising premiums amid economic recovery offset high damage claims. However, analysts expressed worry about Hannover’s underwriting performance in the second quarter and the prospect of reinsurance prices coming under pressure, contributing to a fall in Hannover’s shares which closed six per [...]
RBS poaches Tapner of UBS to head wealth management August 10, 2010 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has hired Rory Tapner to head its wealth management arm just as flagship private banking arm Coutts faces a regulatory probe into sales of a savings product. Tapner joins from Swiss bank UBS where he was chairman and chief executive of the Asia-Pacific businesses. He is also a former global [...]
South Africa’s Mondi swings to a profit in the first half of 2010 August 10, 2010 Paper maker Mondi again raised prices for some products and forecast a strong second half yesterday after better demand and prices helped it return to a half-year profit. South Africa’s Mondi, which is also listed in London, said business picked up across all of its paper grades and its domestic division was also improving. “Mondi [...]
BAD TEMPERS AND CHICKEN WINGS IN OBAMA’S ECONOMIC HOTHOUSE August 10, 2010 WHEN Christina Romer, Chair of the US Council of Economic Advisors, quit her role suddenly last week, speculation was rife that she had been forced out due to fighting with colleague Lawrence Summers. Summers is director of the National Economic Council and before his role as coordinator of US economic policy, he was president of [...]
Britain’s trade gap narrows August 10, 2010 BRITAIN’S goods trade deficit with the rest of the world narrowed more than expected to a four-month low in June after exports rose more than four times faster than imports. The Office for National Statistics said that Britain’s goods trade gap narrowed to £7.401bn from £8.028bn in May, a bigger fall than the drop to [...]
Britain’s trade gap narrows August 10, 2010 BRITAN’S goods trade deficit with the rest of the world narrowed more than expected to a four-month low in June after exports rose more than four times faster than imports. The Office for National Statistics said that Britain’s goods trade gap narrowed to £7.401bn from £8.028bn in May, a bigger fall than the drop to [...]