Russian government sells 14pc stake in diamond miner Alrosa October 2, 2013 THE RUSSIAN government plans to sell off a 14 per cent stake in Alrosa, the state-owned diamond miner said yesterday. A Moscow public offering for the world’s largest diamond miner based on volume has been in the pipeline for over a decade, as the Russian government looks to bolster its coffers. Russian federal and regional [...]
Soco well test beats expectations October 2, 2013 FTSE 250-listed oil and gas explorer Soco yesterday said that testing of a well in Vietnam had exceeded expectations, with production reaching over 27,600 barrels of oil per day. “This has turned out to be a great well, representing one of the most prolific individual wells ever tested in Vietnam,” said president and chief executive [...]
Global air travel rises in August October 2, 2013 Airlines flew passengers 6.8 per cent further in August than during the same month last year, figures out yesterday showed. The summer peak saw a 7.5 per cent rise in demand for international air travel, with particularly strong growth in Europe and North America. The International Air Transport Association, which represents four-fifths of the industry, [...]
Shell boosts production in Brazil October 2, 2013 Oil major Royal Dutch Shell said yesterday that along with its partners Petrobas and ONGC, it has begun the second production phase of the Parque das Conchas project, which is located off Brazil’s south east coast. Peak production of the first phase, which started in 2009, was more than 90,000 barrels of oil per day [...]
City Moves for 3 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 2, 2013 ICAEW The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has appointed Liz Rylatt as executive director for finance, operations and members. Rylatt was a chartered accountant at KPMG before joining the BBC, where she was chief management accountant. Coutts The bank has hired Hans Prottey as a corporate finance specialist and executive director in its strategic [...]
Best of the Brokers for 3 October 2013 October 2, 2013 SCHRODERS Numis has cut its rating on the investmentfirm from “add” to “hold” with a target of 2,632p for its voting shares. The broker now has just one “buy” rating in the sector – on Aberdeen – but still views equity managers, especially those in emerging markets, as good long-term value. OPHIR ENERGY Nomura has [...]
London Report: FTSE slumps to a three-month low on US fears October 2, 2013 THE UK’S top share index slipped to a three-month low yesterday, with retailers bruised by a weak trading update from Tesco while broader sentiment was weighed down by concerns over a US government shutdown. The FTSE 100 index fell as low as 6,386.18 points, its lowest since July, as investors fretted about the continued partial [...]
New York Report: Washington impasse drags Wall St down October 2, 2013 WALL Street retreated yesterday, the second day of a partial US government shutdown, as political wrangling in Washington raised investor concerns that the stoppage could be prolonged. Adding to worries, a report showed private employers added fewer-than-expected jobs in September. Investors were looking for more guidance from this data because Friday’s broader, government payrolls report [...]
The new kids on the block October 2, 2013 The tablet market is no longer divided into “Apple” and “others”. With the release of Tesco’s budget Hudl and Microsoft’s revamped Surface 2, the market is hotting up in time for the Christmas splurge Microsoft Surface 2 From £359 Microsoft desperately wants to get a slice of the tablet market, surprising some observers by launching [...]
Infamous online marketplace Silk Road seized by FBI and arrest of alleged owner Ulbricht October 2, 2013 The darknet site Silk Road has been taken down by law enforcement. The site gained notoreity as a portal through which to purchase illegal goods, using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. FBI estimates suggest that the site has generated revenues totalling over 9.5m Bitcoins, and collected commissions from sales totalling over 600,000 Bitcoins. That equates to around [...]