Dana expands in Egypt with Nile Delta venture July 21, 2010 OIL and gas explorer Dana Petroleum has agreed to acquire a 50 per cent stake in a potential oil field off the coast of Egypt from rival BG Group, boosting its prospects in Africa. The Aberdeen-based firm said yesterday it has agreed to fund the cost of the next exploration well in the Nile Delta, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 21, 2010 BANK OF IRELAND The bank has appointed Bill Greaves to the position of head of corporate banking in the UK. Greaves previously led the bank’s technology, media and telecoms team, which he established in early 2005 upon joining the group. Prior to that, he led the media team at Barclays. In his new role, he [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 21, 2010 GOLDMAN SACHS JP Morgan Cazenove rates Goldman Sachs as “overweight” despite disappointing second quarter results. JP Morgan said that it has lowered its earnings per share predictions for Goldman, but believes the bank still maintains a strong position in its peer group, and that its potential for restructuring could help offset any negative impact. GOLDMAN [...]
Morgan Stanley in profit rise July 21, 2010 US bank Morgan Stanley saw a stronger than expected profit in the three months to the end of June. The company made a net profit of $1.4bn (£917m) compared with a loss of $138m in the same period last year. Morgan Stanley said remuneration for staff for the quarter – including the bonus pool – [...]
Sentance again votes for MPC interest rate rise July 21, 2010 MPC member Andrew Sentence was once again a lone voice in calling for a rise in interest rates, according to the minutes of the July meeting. He voted to lift the Bank rate to 0.75 per cent from the record low of 0.5 per cent, at the MPC’s regular meeting to ste rates. The most [...]
BA given approval for transatlantic tie-ups July 21, 2010 BRITISH Airways has been given the green light approval to operate a joint business on transatlantic flights with American Airlines and Iberia. The US Department of Transportation gave the airlines the go ahead. BA and its partners will co-operate commercially on flights to the US, Canada and Mexico from the EU, Switzerland and Norway. BA [...]
Reckitt Benckiser in £2.5bn takeover deal for SSL July 21, 2010 CONSUMER goods group Reckitt Benckiser has agreed to buy Durex condoms and Scholl sandals maker SSL International for £2.5bn ($3.8 billion) to increase its presence in health and personal care. The Anglo-Dutch maker of Nurofen painkillers, Strepsils and Lemsip cold remedies, said SSL shareholders would receive 1,171 pence in cash a share, including the eight [...]
Hedge funds still pulling in billions July 21, 2010 HEDGE funds pulled in $9.5bn (£6.22bn) during the second quarter with nervous investors preferring to send their money to the biggest and best established managers, according to industry tracker Hedge Fund Research Inc. Hedge fund managers have seen flat returns on average as they have battled a volatile market so far this year, but that [...]
BP in deal to sell $7bn of assets July 21, 2010 BP has sealed a deal to sell $7bn (£4.5bn) of assets in the United States, Canada and Egypt to Apache Corporation. The company will sell its Permian Basin operations in Texas and south-east New Mexico and its Western Canadian upstream gas assets. It will also offload its Western Desert business concessions and East Badr El-din [...]
Ocado forced to slash float price July 20, 2010 OCADO caved in to investor pressure yesterday by slashing its IPO valuation by 20 per cent, in a desperate eleventh hour bid to keep the float alive. Ocado’s management were accused of arrogance for failing to listen to analysts and investors who baulked at the initial £1.1bn price-tag attached to the business. The online grocer [...]