Ukraine teams up with Chevron October 30, 2013 Ukraine said yesterday it will sign a $10bn shale gas production-sharing agreement with US energy major Chevron next week – its second such deal this year. Ecology minister Oleh Proskuryakov said the deal for exploration and extraction at the Olesska site in western Ukraine, which follows one signed with Royal Dutch Shell earlier this year, [...]
Britons are creatures of habit when doing shopping online October 30, 2013 SHOPPERS tend to buy on their mobiles when they wake up and browse on tablets after work during ad breaks while watching TV, according to figures by John Lewis, with nearly two-thirds of customers now shopping both in store and online. The department store group has released a report today that analyses the nation’s shopping [...]
Retired teachers take over Busy Bees nurseries October 30, 2013 BUSY Bees Nursery Group has been sold to a Canadian pension fund for an undisclosed sum, the childcare chain confirmed yesterday. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan had offered a reported £220m for the company, which operates 213 nurseries across the UK. The companies declined to comment on how much money changed hands. The fund beat a [...]
Nintendo turns slight profit yet latest console sales disappoint October 30, 2013 VIDEO games company Nintendo reported slightly improved results yesterday as the firm managed to turn a modest profit in the six months to 30 September. The company turned an improved profit of ¥600m (£3.8m), up from its loss of ¥28bn during the same period last year, but revenues fell to ¥196.5bn. Nintendo last month dropped [...]
GM profit up on good US demand and improvement across Europe October 30, 2013 GENERAL Motors posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit yesterday as the US carmaker’s new lineup of pickup trucks and other revamped models boosted North American results, and revenue rose in Europe for the first time in two years. The strong showing in North and South America and the improvement in Europe offset the decline in Asian markets [...]
Volkswagen income rises after record sales of luxury brands October 30, 2013 VOLKSWAGEN said yesterday third-quarter operating profit rose by a fifth on the back of record sales at premium brands Audi and Porsche, keeping the carmaker on track to meet full-year targets. Operating profit at Europe’s largest automotive group rose to €2.78bn (£2.3bn) from €2.32bn a year ago. VW reaffirmed goals to match last year’s record [...]
African Barrick raises full-year output target October 30, 2013 AFRICAN Barrick Gold (ABG) shot to the top of the FTSE 250 leaderboard yesterday, after the miner said it expects to beat full-year production targets and is on track with its cost-cutting strategy. The firm posted an 11 per cent increase in third-quarter gold output compared to the same quarter in 2012, with cash costs [...]
Lookers sales pick up speed as the British car market surges October 30, 2013 CAR DEALER Lookers said it expected to post “significantly” higher profits this year thanks to the boom in the UK’s car market. New car sales in Britain soared by 12.1 per cent last month to their highest level in more than five years, defying the negative trend across much of continental Europe. Lookers said it [...]
Petrofac partners with Bonatti on new Algerian gas contract October 30, 2013 FTSE 100-listed oil and gas services provider Petrofac yesterday unveiled a $650m (£405m) deal in partnership with Italian contractor Bonatti, to extend the life of the Alrar gas field in south east Algeria. The engineering, procurement and construction contract will last 32 months and has been awarded by Algerian state-owned oil explorer Sonatrach. “We are [...]
Trading suffers as Fiat cuts 2013 forecast on weak Latin America October 30, 2013 ITALIAN automaker Fiat yesterday cut its 2013 financial targets as expected, after third-quarter revenue in Latin America fell because incentives expired in Brazil. Fiat now expects to earn a trading profit of between €3.5bn and €3.8bn (£3.2bn) in 2013, the bottom end falling below an analyst forecast range of €3.65bn to €3.92bn. Fiat said its [...]