German trade surplus grows February 9, 2015 LOW OIL prices helped drive Germany’s current account balance to a record high in 2014, official figures showed yesterday. Exports rose 3.7 per cent over the year, outpacing imports which increased two per cent. As a result the surplus rose to €215bn (£160bn), equivalent to 7.5 per cent of GDP. The figure also underlines the sustained [...]
Crossrail digs into Bedlam’s burials February 9, 2015 A REPUTED rapist and black magic advocate who was murdered by an angry mob. Victims of the plague. A former Lord Mayor of London. These are just a handful of the people buried under Liverpool Street, whose remains are being unearthed as part of the Crossrail project. More than 5,000 people buried in what was [...]
What’s love got to do with it? February 9, 2015 WALL STREET, the London Stock Exchange, and Hong Kong have all been occupied at various points, but now anti-capitalism protesters are turning their attention to a new target… love. Occupy Democracy, an offshoot of the former residents outside St Paul’s, have declared that they will spend a romantic Valentine’s day camped in Parliament Square. The [...]
Statoil’s Helge Lund to take up role at BG early February 9, 2015 Oil ginat BG Group unexpectedly welcomed its new chief executive Helge Lund yesterday, after he struck a deal with ex-employer Statoil to release him from his contractual commitments three weeks early. The news pushed shares in the company up by three per cent. Lund’s appointment was announced in October last year. He previously spent a [...]
Egdon boosted by positive test results at onshore oil discovery February 9, 2015 SHARES in oil firm Egdon Resources went up by 1.43 per cent yesterday after it revealed it had measured free flowing oil production rates equivalent to 80 barrels of oil per day during tests on the Ashover Grit reservoir at its Wressle-1 operation. Egdon, which has a 25 per cent interest in the Lincolnshire site, [...]
Petroceltic boss Brian O’Cathain bites back after Worldview Capital repeats allegations February 9, 2015 Oil boss Brian O’Cathain, chief executive of Irish firm Petroceltic, last night hit back at activist shareholder Worldview Capital, which is calling for his resignation, and accused it of “trying to take over the company, but not at fair value”. The Swiss group issued a circular yesterday in which it claimed that Petroceltic will run [...]
Camden crowdfund to expand brewing site February 9, 2015 CRAFT beer company Camden Town Brewery yesterday cracked open a £1.5m crowdfunding equity campaign to raise funds for a new brewing site. The fund, titled Hells Raiser says 100 jobs could come from the expansion. For £10 funders will get an equity certificate, with heftier sums getting beer-related rewards.
Premier Technical Services Group IPO: Electrical safety firm raises cash for £45m listing February 9, 2015 A leading electrical safety firm responsible for working on the King’s Cross redevelopment has raised £8m by floating on London’s junior stock market. West Yorkshire-based Premier Technical Services Group (PTSG) is set to start trading on the alternative investment market tomorrow after raising new funds and selling existing shares to outside investors in an offer [...]
Imagination picks former Sony Mobile chief Bert Nordberg as next chairman February 9, 2015 British microchip designer Imagination Technologies yesterday appointed Bert Nordberg as its new chairman. Nordberg, the former president and chief executive of Sony Mobile communications, will succeed Geoff Shingles, who is retiring on 20 March. “It is a great pleasure to welcome Bert to Imagination,” said Imagination’s Senior independent director David Anderson in a statement. “His [...]
Oaktree’s $10bn fund on track yet returns drop February 9, 2015 OAKTREE Capital Group, the world’s largest distressed-debt investor, last night announced a fourth quarter net profit of $24.4m (£16m) for the three months to 31 December, down from $64.9m a year earlier. The company joins the long list of firms affected by the unexpectedly low oil price, which dropped 39 per cent in the quarter, [...]