RIO TINTO BOSS SHRUGS OFF M&A TALK August 26, 2010 RIO TINTO chief executive Tom Albanese told a conference in Brisbane yesterday the future of the mining industry remains volatile, and that Rio will focus on production growth rather than acquisitions. He has already dismissed the idea of bidding against rival BHP Billiton for fertiliser firm Potash, saying:?“I’m a miner, not a farmer”.
Wall Street hails better jobless claims August 26, 2010 REPORTS of shorter jobless queues in the United States gave Wall Street some much-needed cheer yesterday after poor housing market and durable goods figures earlier this week heightened fears of a double-dip recession. Initial jobless claims for state unemployment benefits fell 31,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 473,000 last week, far fewer than the 490,000 that the [...]
London lettings boom as demand pushes up rents August 26, 2010 LONDON’S lettings market remains buoyant with a surge in tenant demand pushing rents in the capital higher. Forty three per cent more chartered surveyors in London reported a rise in demand for property rather than a fall, up from 37 per cent in the first quarter, according to the latest RICS residential lettings survey for [...]
Eurozone loans to households surge in July August 26, 2010 LOANS to European households and businesses grew at the fastest pace in more than a year in July as optimism about the currency bloc’s economic recovery grew, the European Central Bank (ECB) reported yesterday. The central bank said that lending to the private sector increased 0.9 per cent on July 2009, building on a 0.5 [...]
City recruiter says bankers aren’t leaving August 26, 2010 ROBERT WALTERS, the chief executive at one of the City’s largest recruitment agencies, yesterday backtracked on comments he made earlier this year suggesting there would be an exodus of bankers from London. Walters told City A.M. that his recruitment business, Robert Walters, had yet to see the mass exit of bankers from the City that [...]
Domestic banking aids Credit Agricole to swing to a profit August 26, 2010 CREDIT Agricole, France’s third-largest banking group, said yesterday that growth in its domestic retail business and a strong investment banking performance more than offset further losses in its Greek unit. Second-quarter net profit surged 89 per cent to €379m (£310.4m), as net banking income grew 20 per cent to a record high of €5.47bn. The [...]
Amec is upbeat on future as customers spend more August 26, 2010 OIL services and engineering group Amec posted a 20 per cent rise in first-half profits yesterday and said it saw customer spending returning in most of its key markets. Amec’s first-half earnings before interest, tax and amortisation rose to £113.5m from £94.5m in the same period last year. Its order book grew eight per cent [...]
Savills cautious on 12 month outlook August 26, 2010 GLOBAL property adviser Savills maintained a cautious second-half outlook and raised the spectre of a flat performance in the first six months of 2011 after posting much-improved interim results yesterday. Savills booked group revenue of £304.4m for the first half, up 23 per cent from the same period a year ago. Group underlying profit advanced [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 26, 2010 McGrigors The law firm’s London office has appointed Karl Woolley as a partner in its finance practice. He is tasked with strengthening the firm’s relationship with the City’s banks and his experience in acquisition and funds finance is expected to aid this expansion. Woolley joins from SJ Berwin, where he is currently a partner. Prior [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 26, 2010 BHP BILLITON The mining group’s results were largely in line, said Citigroup, with iron ore revenue delivering a surprising jump to $6bn. The broker maintained its “buy” rating with a target price of £27.00. BHP’s recent economic commentary has been cautious, though Citi conceded that investors were likely to focus on its bid for Potash [...]