South African economy hit by recession May 26, 2009 SOUTH Africa’s economy suffered its sharpest contraction in a quarter of a century, declining by an annualised 6.4 per cent in the first three months of 2009 and confirming its first recession in 17 years. Africa’s biggest economy has been hard hit by global woes, with recession in developed countries slashing demand for its minerals [...]
LINDA COOK SHELL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GAS & POWER May 26, 2009 Linda Cook joined Shell in Houston in 1980, and has been chief executive of Shell Gas & Power since 2000. She has also been a group managing director at the company. Born in Kansas City in 1958, Cook graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. She moved with her family [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 26, 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopersThe business advisory firm has appointed Ashley Unwin as head of its performance improvement consulting practice. Unwin joins from Terra Firma Capital Partners. Until recently, he was acting chief operating officer for EMI Music in North America and chief executive officer for EMI Music in the UK and Ireland. Prior to that, he was a [...]
Staff cash in after record Tesco profits May 26, 2009 MORE than 207,000 Tesco employees are to scoop up share bonuses worth a total of £98m, it was revealed yesterday, after the giant retailer posted record annual results. Under the group’s “Share in Success” scheme, checkout workers to store managers that have worked with the supermarket for at least a year by the end of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 26, 2009 PREMIER FOODSInvestec upgrades Premier Foods to “buy”, in spite of only recently downgrading it to “hold”. It says the drop in the share price following its recent trading update, together with likely better news on bread, makes it a more attractive proposition once again. Maintains 40p target price. “The foundations are in place for better [...]
MUTUEL TAKES THE MICKEY May 26, 2009 FRENCH bank Crédit Mutuel has signed a deal with Disneyland Paris that will see it use Disney branding to promote accounts for young people. The bank will also have exclusive rights to provide certain banking services at the resort.
Landmark for lottery boosts Camelot sales May 26, 2009 NATIONAL Lottery operator Camelot yesterday posted its best sales performance in a decade –as it kicks off its third licence period for the game played by 70 per cent of the adult population. The group recorded sales of £5.1bn, an increase of £182.8m on the £4.9bn posted a year earlier. During the past year Camelot [...]
Aveva warns of tough trading as profits surge May 26, 2009 ENGINEERING software group Aveva beat market expectations yesterday for full-year revenue and profits thanks to growth in its marine, oil and gas and power markets, but warned of tough trading conditions. Aveva – which makes the three-dimensional software used to design ships, oil rigs, nuclear power stations and chemical plants – reported a 29 per [...]
Third fine in fortnight as FSA swoops May 26, 2009 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday imposed a life-long ban and a £140,000 fine on former Morgan Stanley trader Nilesh Shroff, the third sanction against the bank or its former employees in the last two weeks. The FSA said that Shroff had deliberately disadvantaged his customers by “pre-hedging” their trades without their consent on seven [...]
Gazprom swells stake in Sibir May 26, 2009 GAZPROM Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, yesterday moved a step closer to taking control of Sibir Energy, the oil firm embroiled in an investigation over loans to one of its major shareholders. Gazprom Neft launched a recommended cash offer at 500p a share for the rest of the outstanding shares in [...]