Share prices plummet as Falklands oil exploration reveals poor results March 29, 2010 DESIRE Petroleum, a UK oil exploration company, spooked investors by revealing poor drilling results in the Falklands yesterday. The firm’s share price fell 50 per cent after logging operations at its Liz well showed oil may be present in thin intervals but the overall reservoir quality is poor. It closed down 49p at 50p. The [...]
Antisoma crushed as lung cancer drug fails to deliver in late trials March 29, 2010 CANCER specialist Antisoma suffered a crushing blow yesterday as a lung cancer drug being developed with Novartis failed in a late-stage trial. Chief executive Glyn Edwards admitted Antisoma is now unlikely to get any money from its ASA404 treatment, which had been its biggest drug hope. An interim analysis concluded that continuing with the study [...]
Travelodge hotel will go ahead March 29, 2010 Travelodge yesterday announced it has secured planning permission for a 111-bed hotel in the heart of Twickenham, on London Road. The new-build hotel will involve a £7.5m investment in the town, and create 30 new jobs in the area. The development will start construction this summer and is expected to complete in Autumn 2011. Travelodge [...]
TD Bank awarded gilt status March 29, 2010 US bank Toronto Dominion Bank said yesterday its London branch has been recognised as a gilt-edged market maker by the UK Debt Management Office and the London Stock Exchange. As a recognised market maker, Toronto Dominion Bank said it would participate in gilt auctions by the UK government. UK government bond issuances rose to £225.1bn [...]
Balfour nets £200m contracts March 29, 2010 Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has been handed a number of lucrative support services contracts worth around £200m from the Highways Agency, Anglian Water and Yorkshire Water. The Highways Agency entrusted Balfour Beatty an extension to a joint venture covering the motorway and trunk road network in the South West, while the firm will also now [...]
Sports Direct yet to agree Blacks deal March 29, 2010 SPORTS Direct will have to shelve its takeover bid for Blacks for six months if the two fail to agree on an offer price by Thursday. Its hopes of merging the retail giants have been put in jeopardy after claims that some key suppliers, including North Face, would not continue to work with Blacks if [...]
Petroceltic share placing raises £81m for exploration in North Africa and Italy March 29, 2010 IRISH oil and gas explorer Petroceltic will tap shareholders and several new investors for £81m to fund projects in Algeria and Italy. The dual Dublin and Aim-listed company announced a share placing at 12.75p per share yesterday, a modest discount to Friday’s closing price of 13p. Although the sum being raised is almost half the [...]
City rents rise by 12 per cent March 29, 2010 CITY office rents have recorded the biggest quarterly increase since 1988, in a sign that the Square Mile property market is clambering back to its feet. Rents shot up by 12 per cent in the first three months of 2010 from £42.50 per square foot to £47.50, according to a survey by NB Real Estate. [...]
Think tank calls for curbs on costly EU regulation March 29, 2010 THE SOARING costs of red tape came under the spotlight yesterday as a new report found that regulation has cost the UK economy £176bn over the past 12 years. Of that amount, around 71 per cent – or £124bn – was spent on complying with legislation from the EU, according to think tank Open Europe. [...]
Tax rises hit the price of luxury homes March 29, 2010 ANTICIPATION of increased taxes and lower bonuses has resulted in prices for London’s luxury homes increasing at the slowest rate for a year. According to Savills, the UK estate agent, prices for houses and apartments worth over £1m increased in the first quarter by only three per cent, compared with 4.6 per cent in the [...]