Betfair launches an online trading arm October 25, 2010 SHARE trading service LMAX opened for business yesterday, offering contracts for difference on US and European share indices, commodities and UK gilts. The platform, which is majority owned by online sports gambling firm Betfair, adopts its parent’s model as a peer-to-peer exchange rather than a traditional broker. It claims to be the first multi-asset trading [...]
BAE Systems extends tank repair contract October 25, 2010 BAE Systems yesterday signed a $91m (£57.8m) contract with the US Army to upgrade 552 of its Bradley combat vehicles. The British defence giant has already done almost $1bn of manufacturing and repair work for the army since 2007 on over 3,300 Bradley tanks, which are used in front-line combat. “The readiness and sustainment support [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 25, 2010 COMPASS Shore Capital rates the support services group a “buy” with a fair value of 600p a share. The broker said a recent earnings per share upgrade to 39p for the year to September 2011 has been driven by margin improvements and a quicker than expected recovery in organic revenue growth. RESOLUTION UBS gives a [...]
Cameron promises to trigger new growth October 25, 2010 David Cameron has promised to invest to ensure the UK’s future economic growth, with an emphasis on entrepreneurs. The Prime Minister told the CBI conference £30bn would be invested in transport projects over the next four years as part of a package to keep the UK recovery on track. He said: “This is an incredible [...]
City hit by chemical leak October 25, 2010 THE City was hit by traffic chaos in the rush hour after a chemical spill at the New Change shopping mall on Cheapside. The London Fire Brigade in an alert said 30 people were evacuated as specialist teams combed the building to assess the cause of the spill. Land Securities, which owns the shopping centre [...]
Mortgage lending remains “subdued” October 25, 2010 The latest figures from UK’s major banks have said that budget uncertainties had contributed to a subdued mortgage market. The downward trend spiral continued in September, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said. The number of mortgages approved for house purchases fell slightly compared with the previous month to 31,104, as low demand for new loans [...]
Holiday Inn revamp boosts IHG October 25, 2010 InterContinental Hotel Group, the world’s top hotelier, said revenue per available room in the Americas region was boosted by the ongoing relaunch of its Holiday Inn hotels and the return of business travellers. InterContinental, whose brands include namesake hotels along with the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, said revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key [...]
BP sells interests in four Gulf of Mexico fields for $650m October 25, 2010 BP has announced that it has reached agreement to sell its recently-acquired interests in four oil and gas fields in the US Gulf of Mexico to Marubeni Oil and Gas for $650m (£413m). BP acquired the interests in the fields – Magnolia, Merganser, Nansen and Zia – from Devon Energy earlier in 2010 as part [...]
FTSE opens higher ahead of key data October 25, 2010 The FTSE 100 rose on opening this morning with heavyweight miners likely to be buoyed by a softer dollar after the Group of 20 major economies agreed to avoid competitive currency devaluations. The blue chip index looks set to gain 43 to 48 points, or as much as 0.8 percent, according to financial bookmakers, after [...]
British Land teams up with Canadians for City skyscraper October 25, 2010 British Land is teaming up with Canada’s Oxford Properties to develop the Leadenhall Building in the City, in the second of two crisis-hit skyscraper projects to be revived within a week. Britain’s second largest property company said it had agreed terms to build the 47-storey tall scheme in a 50:50 joint venture with the real [...]