Total mourns loss of chief exec Christophe de Margerie in plane crash tragedy October 21, 2014 French oil company Total yesterday confirmed the death of its chairman and chief executive Christophe de Margerie “with deep regret and great sadness”. De Margerie, 63, was killed at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow on Monday night, when the private plane he was on collided with a snow plough. Three crew members on the plane also [...]
Jaguar Land Rover opens new Chinese factory in bid to expand October 21, 2014 Jaguar Land Rover opened its first overseas factory yesterday, with the inauguration of the Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company plant in Changshu, just north of Shanghai. The Range Rover Evoque will be the first model built at the plant, which was created through a 10.9bn renminbi (£1.1bn) joint investment plan with Chinese company Chery [...]
Petra Diamonds may pay dividend early as profits jump October 21, 2014 Petra Diamonds yesterday announced that it was looking at paying a dividend in 2015 instead of 2016 as previously stated, after posting positive full-year results for 2014. The diamond miner reported a 20 per cent jump in revenue for the year ended June 2014, up to $478.1m (£296.3m) from $392.5m, while profit before tax was [...]
AbbVie blames “outdated” US tax law for Shire deal collapse October 21, 2014 The boss of US drugs giant AbbVie hit out at the “outdated” US tax regime after confirming the $55bn (£34bn) takeover of Shire had collapsed. Chief executive Richard Gonzalez led the charge to buy Dublin drugmaker Shire for three months, only to walk away from the deal last week blaming changes to the US tax [...]
World Cup boosts William Hill’s profit on favourable outcomes October 21, 2014 BOOKMAKER William Hill has seen its operating profit soar 89 per cent in the third quarter, with favourable sporting results playing in the group’s favour. William Hill’s revenue climbed 23 per cent, reflecting the benefits of World Cup betting and a favourable sports margin. Furthermore, the bookies’ investment in digital appears to be paying off, [...]
Cognicity Challenge: Canary Wharf Group’s £300,000 smart city startup fund October 21, 2014 Canary Wharf Group yesterday launched a startup accelerator programme to find six so-called smart city technologies – that drive cost savings using technology in fields such as transport and construction – to be piloted across its estate. The Cognicity Challenge will be spread over six sectors: integrated transportation, connected home, virtual design, construction, integrated resource [...]
Infocomm sets up shop in the City with £124m to invest in startups October 21, 2014 SINGAPORE venture capital (VC) fund Infocomm is setting up shop in the capital, bringing $200m (£124m) to invest in startups in London and Europe for the first time. The move was spurred by the momentum in the capital’s tech sector and the new outpost makes permanent an 18-month “commuter relationship” with the City, Infocomm chairman [...]
The Snappening: Snapchat might see app snap after nude pictures leaked – Brand Index October 21, 2014 It was called the “Snappening” – the vast leak of Snapchat pictures, including thousands of nude images, some of them of under-17s – the app’s main demographic. Hackers said they had been able to intercept Snapchat photographs for years. Due to the age of many of the photo messaging app’s users, there had been concerns [...]
City Moves for 22 October 2014 | Who’s switching jobs October 21, 2014 Vue Entertainment Alison Cornwell joins the entertainment company as chief financial officer. She has previously held leadership positions at Disney, Sparrowhawk Media and Alliance Films. She was appointed to the British Film Institute’s board of governors in 2013. Holdingham Charles Harman is to join the strategic intelligence firm Hakluyt’s holding company as chief executive officer, [...]
Best of the Brokers for 22 October 2014 October 21, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DEUTSCHE POST Deutsche Bank has downgraded the world’s largest courier company from “buy” to “hold”. The investment bank said Deutsche Post’s growth could be muted in the medium term by a softer economic backdrop and restructuring costs. The firm has set a target [...]