BP tells court it waives spill liability cap October 19, 2010 OIL giant BP yesterday told a court it was committed to waiving the legal cap on its liability from the Gulf oil spill, which could have limited the cost to the oil giant to $75m (£47.7bn) plus clean-up costs. “BP has chosen to waive the statutory limitation on liability under OPA,” BP said in a [...]
Plunging sales hit J&J results October 19, 2010 Johnson & Johnson (J&J) yesterday reported disappointing quarterly revenue as sales of US consumer products plunged 25 per cent following recalls of Tylenol and other consumer brands. Although J&J reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, analysts said the profit performance was largely due to lower taxes and one-off items. “There was more of a decline in the [...]
Intel planning to invest in its US production facilities October 19, 2010 CHIPMAKER Intel yesterday said it plans to spend between $6bn (£3.8bn) and $8bn on high-tech manufacturing facilities in Arizona and Oregon, projects it estimates would create up to 8,000 construction jobs. Intel said plans call for it to build a new fabrication plant in Oregon and upgrade several existing factories. The projects, it said, would [...]
Rockhopper seals £203m fundraising to step up south Atlantic drill activity October 19, 2010 FALKLAND Islands-focused oil group Rockhopper completed a £206.3m fundraising yesterday in an effort to ramp up its drilling campaign in the south Atlantic region. Rockhopper, listed on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim), said the funds – raised through placing a total of 65,500,000 new shares at a price of 315p each – will help it [...]
FIRST STOP FRANKFURT October 19, 2010 GERMAN rail operator Deutsche Bahn yesterday showcased a Siemens high-speed train in London which it hopes will run services to Germany through the Channel Tunnel in a challenge to Eurostar’s monopoly and Alstom trains. The ICE?3 train was on display at St Pancras station. Deutsche Bahn wants to operate services from London to Frankfurt and [...]
Pizza firm tops profit forecasts October 19, 2010 Domino’s Pizza yesterday reported quarterly profit that topped Wall Street’s expectations, as its new pizza recipe attracted more US diners than expected, sending shares up as much as 6.7 per cent to a five-month high. The company saw sales at restaurants open at least a year in the United States surge 11.7 per cent in [...]
US and China set for trade talks October 19, 2010 The United States and China will hold annual high-level trade and economic talks the week of 13 December in Washington, a top US trade official said yesterday. US undersecretary of commerce Francisco Sanchez said he hoped for progress on resolving US concerns about Chinese barriers to its government procurement market and protection of US intellectual [...]
Harley profits move up a gear October 19, 2010 Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson reported a stronger-than-expected profit yesterday – but only because improved results at its once-struggling finance arm helped offset stubbornly soft sales of its bikes. The company also said the economy in the US, its biggest market by far, continues to hurt sales there and said it was not sure when US buyers [...]
Evolution bid for Panmure is abandoned October 19, 2010 STOCKBROKER Evolution Group has decided against bidding for smaller City rival Panmure Gordon in the face of opposition from both its takeover target and one of its own big shareholders. Evolution said in September that it was considering bidding for Panmure, which was later granted a “put up or shut up” deadline of 28 October [...]
Daniel Stewart out of red after buying Mena-RL October 19, 2010 DANIEL Stewart Securities returned to profit in the first six months of the year following its acquisition of Dubai based financial adviser Mena-RL in May, it said yesterday Pre-tax profit rose to £190,572, or 4p per share, for the first six months to 30 September compared with a loss of £699,000 for the same period [...]