Essar partners with Hydrodec to expand the Stanlow oil refinery November 12, 2013 ESSAR Energy has signed a joint venture with Hydrodec to expand the Stanlow complex in Cheshire, the UK’s second largest oil refinery. Under the agreement which was announced yesterday, India-focused oil giant Essar will use technology developed by Aim-listed industrial oil refining company Hydrodec to turn Stanlow into “the leading European oil re-refining centre”. Re-refining [...]
Blood transfusion sale set to give Novartis a £1bn shot in the arm November 12, 2013 SWISS healthcare group Novartis has agreed to sell its blood transfusion testing unit to Spain’s Grifols for $1.68bn (£1.05bn), in an increasingly buoyant market for deals in the sector. The sale comes as Novartis carries out a broad review of operations following the departure of veteran chairman and one-time chief executive Daniel Vasella, the architect [...]
AstraZeneca pledges to invest £120m in UK cancer drug factory November 12, 2013 ASTRAZENECA said yesterday it would invest £120m in a new facility at its global manufacturing site in Macclesfield, in the north west of England, to continue production of prostate cancer drug Zoladex. The medicine is the company’s fifth largest selling brand with annual sales of around $1bn. Zoladex has been manufactured at AstraZeneca’s Macclesfield plant [...]
Pepsi plans Indian investment November 11, 2013 PepsiCo, the maker of Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay snacks and Tropicana juice, plans to invest $5.5bn (£3.4bn) in India by 2020 to expand its presence in the country, it said yesterday. PepsiCo’s plans come after rival Coca-Cola Co, the world’s largest drinks maker, said in June last year it would invest a total of $5bn between 2012 [...]
RWE eyes bigger cost reductions November 11, 2013 Germany’s RWE is expected to cut more jobs than planned, squeeze more costs and sell more assets when it reports earnings this week due to weaker prospects in electricity generation as the country shifts toward renewable energy. RWE is set to slash a further 3,400 jobs and increase the scope of its savings programme, dubbed [...]
Alitalia board weigh up job cuts November 11, 2013 Italian airline Alitalia has called a board meeting for tomorrow to discuss a revised industrial plan for the loss-making carrier that could include heavy job losses, sources familiar with the situation said yesterday. One source said a few thousand jobs could be cut as a result of the revised plan, although there was no definite [...]
City Moves for 12 November 2013 | Who’s switching jobs November 11, 2013 Butterfield The bank has announced the appointment of Kim Hillier as European head of private banking. Hillier has over 30 years’ experience as a wealth management adviser. She joined the bank in 2012 from Stonehage Investment Partners. BlackRock The investment management firm has recruited Rachel Lord as head of iShares for Europe, the Middle East [...]
Italian industry sees output fall for 10th quarter November 11, 2013 ITALIAN industrial production was up marginally in September, but down significantly for the third quarter, according to figures released yesterday, adding to fears that Italy could prove a drag on the Eurozone. Italy’s national statistics institute (Istat) reported that production – excluding construction – increased by 0.2 per cent in September compared to the month [...]
Factories shuttered as protest turns violent in Bangladesh November 11, 2013 PROTESTERS demanding a higher minimum wage in Bangladesh were broken up by police yesterday, with the disorder forcing more than 100 factories to close their doors. Tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon were used on the protesters, who were rallying in support of a higher minimum wage for textiles workers. Bangladesh’s wage board announced [...]
Monte dei Paschi sends bailout plan to European Commission November 11, 2013 THE EUROPEAN Commission yesterday received a restructuring plan from troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which needs the EU’s green light for a €4.1bn bailout, a press officer for EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said. It was not immediately clear how long it would take for the EU Commission to approve the plan, [...]