Mouchel warns on full-year profit as tough conditions hit October 14, 2010 Outsourcer Mouchel yesterday warned full-year profit would be lower than expected after it said it was more cautious about the settlement of some projects amid a harsh business environment. The company, which provides maintenance for highways and handles local government payrolls, said pre-tax profit before exceptionals for the year would be £30.5m. Analysts were, on [...]
KPMG doubles pace of partner promotions amid hiring drive October 14, 2010 ACCOUNTANCY firm KPMG has doubled the number of staff it has promoted to the position of partner and director since last year, as part of its strategy of growing headcount to meet rising client demand. KPMG this month appointed 37 staff to its partnership and 110 to the position of director, compared to 20 new [...]
DO-GOODING HEDGE FUND AUTHORS STRIP MEAT OFF MERVYN’S BONES October 14, 2010 FOLLOWING on from The Capitalist’s coverage of the launch of The Gathering Storm – a compilation of essays by hedgies, with all proceeds going to charities chosen by the writers – the book’s august authors gathered yesterday for cucumber sandwiches and wine at the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation. As the discussion galloped [...]
RECORD PRODUCTION FROM RIO October 14, 2010 MINING giant Rio Tinto yesterday said it produced record quantities of iron ore in the past quarter as China’s insatiable appetite for raw materials boosted demand. The Anglo-Australian group said it produced 47.6m tonnes of the ore in the three months to September. It also reported record production of alumina and coking coal.
Laing to float fund on LSE to raise £270m October 14, 2010 Infrastructure group John Laing yesterday unveiled plans to list an infrastructure fund in London raising up to £270m. Laing, owned by asset manager Henderson Group, will sell up to £256m of infrastructure schemes to the newly formed John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF), in a move flagged up earlier this month. The fund will use the [...]
Kerzner rejects Brunei bid October 14, 2010 Brunei investment firm BMB Group yesterday said that it had made an unsolicited $3.4bn (£2.12bn) cash bid to buy Kerzner International Holdings, saying the luxury resorts operator has significant potential in Asia. Kerzner, which owns the Atlantis and One & Only Ocean resorts on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, hired private equity firm Blackstone Group [...]
UK liquefied natural gas levels touch record highs October 14, 2010 Britain’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage levels hit record highs, according to National Grid data, while gas withdrawals were below market expectations. LNG stock levels were 9,513 gigawatt hours (GWh), or around 903m cubic metres (mcm), which surpassed the previous record of 9,261 GWh in August, the data showed. But brimming storage may not result [...]
Shell urges US to adopt drilling rules October 14, 2010 Royal Dutch Shell urged the US to adopt the tougher drilling rules applied in the North Sea, which it said could have helped prevent the mistakes that contributed to BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Shell chief financial officer Simon Henry said yesterday the US should forced everyone drilling a well to prepare a “safety [...]
New jobless claims rose in US last week October 14, 2010 New US claims for jobless benefits rose last week, hardening the view the central bank will pump more money into the economy, and keeping pressure on Democrats poised to lose congressional seats in 2 November polls. At the same time, record-high imports from China helped push the US trade deficit wider in August, while rising [...]
Opec resolves to keep its production targets unchanged October 14, 2010 OPEC yesterday kept intact a supply policy that has served it well for nearly two years and set aside concern a weak dollar could drive the oil price too high for a fragile world economy. Ecuador, which holds the rotating presidency of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, confirmed the no-change decision and said [...]