Ed Davey defends state-subsidised EDF-Chinese nuclear reactors October 21, 2013 The British government and French utilities company EDF have signed a deal to build two nuclear reactors totalling £16bn at Hinkley, Somerset. The new reactors will be built at Hinkley Point C, with the assistance of EDF's Chinese partners, China General Nuclear Power Group and China National Nuclear Corporation. The Department for Energy and Climate [...]
Legoland operator plans float with 30 per cent ticket discounts for shareholders October 21, 2013 UK theme park operator, Merlin entertainments has announced plans for an initial public offering. The company will apply for admission of its shares to the premium segment of UK Listing Authority and to trade on the market of the London Stock Exchange. Merlin operates 99 attractions including Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Legoland. In 2012 [...]
Npower announces 11.1 per cent gas bill increase October 21, 2013 Electricity supplier Npower has announced that it will raise gas prices by 11.1 per cent. Dual fuel bills will increase by 10.4 per cent. Electricty prices will rise by 9.3 per cent (release). Those increases will take effect on 1 December, and will see the typical dual fuel bill rise to £1,459. Last year Npower [...]
Lift for Heathrow as 2013 sees profit rise October 21, 2013 Heathrow has announced a 22.1 per cent rise in earnings today, encouraged by higher passenger numbers. (Release) Profit before tax was at £266m for the nine months to 30 September. For the same period last year, the figure stood at £112m. Traffic performance was up 3.6 per cent to 54.8m passengers. Chief executive Colin Matthews [...]
Co-op Bank PPI bill set to go higher as it sets aside further £100m for conduct costs October 21, 2013 The troubled Co-operative Bank has made a reassessment of its expected future conduct costs, and has increased its provisions by £100-105m accordingly (release). That money should cover the "future costs of PPI redress, arrears charges and the processing of certain mortgage interest 'first payments'". Banks have so far set aside £16bn to deal with PPI [...]
£64m Crossrail electrification contract for Balfour Beatty October 21, 2013 International construction group Balfour Beatty has announced it's won a £64m Crossrail contract from Network Rail to electrify a stretch of Great Western Main Line. (Release) The 12.5 mile section includes all lines running between Stockley Junction near Heathrow Airport and Maidenhead on the Crossrail West outer section. Balfour Beatty is already involved in the [...]
What you need to know before the open – 21/10 October 21, 2013 With US data restarting this week, it's back to business as usual. A record week for US markets last week, we also saw European counterparts looking positive. *Nikkei Ends Up 0.9% at 14,693.57 underpinned by a strong performance on Wall Street and expectations Fed will delay trimming its stimulus. — Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) October 21, [...]
JP Morgan fined $13,000,000,000 October 21, 2013 JP Morgan agrees record fine but could still face criminal claims JP MORGAN is facing a record $13bn (£8bn) bill to settle mortgage market claims with US regulators this week – but even the record payment is not expected to be enough to stop criminal cases being brought. The unprecedented payment is expected to cover [...]
Estate agents label price hikes unsustainable October 21, 2013 ASKING prices for London houses have soared again this month and are climbing at an unsustainable rate, according to new figures released today by Rightmove. According to the property site, asking prices climbed by a huge 10.2 per cent between September and October alone. The average asking price for a house in greater London is [...]
Hands’ Terra Firma set for £1bn flotation of Infinis October 21, 2013 TERRA Firma, the private equity firm controlled by seasoned investor Guy Hands, is today expected to lay out plans to float wind power firm Infinis on the London stock exchange, valuing its equity stake at £1bn. Infinis, the country’s biggest independent generator of renewable power, was snapped up by Hands’ group 10 years ago using [...]