Blur report a disappointing result September 24, 2013 Blur, the online services exchange, reported widening underlying loss of $1.9m (£1.2m) for the six months to 30 June. The loss was attributed to the company’s increased investment in the corporate sales, marketing and platform infrastructure. Blur’s investments appear to have positively impacted its revenue, which grew 250 per cent to $3.4m in the period. [...]
China to open up Twitter access September 24, 2013 Social networks will be allowed in the proposed free-trade zone of Shanghai by the Chinese government, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday. Facebook, Twitter and other websites were deemed sensitive and blocked by Chinese authorities in 2009, following riots in China’s western provinces that the government of the period blamed on social networking sites.
City Moves for 25 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 24, 2013 Rowanmoor Group The pensions company has announced the appointment of Matthew Robinson as national sales director. Robinson has over 24 years’ experience in financial services, gained with Aegon UK and Scottish Equitable. Jones Lang LaSalle The real estate investment firm has recruited David McCosh as a director in its retail team. He joins from Stephen Kane. DAC Beachcroft [...]
BP asks court to stop payments over Gulf spill September 24, 2013 BP HAS asked a US court to halt payments from its settlement agreement for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico until the claims administrator improves accounting and anti-fraud controls. The request for an injunction was the latest in a string of filings by the firm to stop or delay payments under the [...]
China secures its potash supply with minority stake in Uralkali September 24, 2013 RUSSIAN potash producer Uralkali yesterday said that Chengdong Investment Corporation – the Chinese sovereign wealth fund – has acquired a 12.5 per cent stake in the company. CIC is now the second largest shareholder in the firm, after Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov who owns a 21.75 per cent stake. Uralkali said CIC had received the [...]
Hargreaves slumps into the red September 24, 2013 Hargreaves Services, the Aim-listed fuel logistics supplier, yesterday posted a 4.2 per cent decline in pre-tax profits for the year, due to the closure of Maltby deep mine and fraud issues at its Belgian business. However, the firm reported a 36.5 per cent rise in revenue, boosted by strong performances from its UK coal distribution [...]
Leni Gas and Oil’s losses widen September 24, 2013 Aim-listed Leni Gas and Oil yesterday unveiled a rise in pre-tax losses to £1.4m for the first half of the year, compared to £971,000 in the first half of 2012. The oil and gas explorer attributed this to higher costs from the development of the Goudron asset in Trinidad and one-off costs from fighting the [...]
Falkland plans new drilling September 24, 2013 Aim-listed Falkland Oil and Gas yesterday posted an increase in first-half losses to $941,000 (£588,800), but insisted that it is in a strong financial position, with sufficient funds to undertake a 3D seismic survey and a new drilling programme. “We are in an excellent position to take advantage of the opportunities to exploit our exploration [...]
Any Other Business – 25/09 September 24, 2013 The DVLA reckons it can raise a king’s ransom when it auctions off the car number plate SU11 TAN later this week. The agency has set a £1,500 reserve but thinks that demand for the regal plate could come closer to its record-breaking £113,000 sum for the 1 HRH plate four years ago thanks to [...]
Best of the Brokers for 25 September 2013 September 24, 2013 AMEC UBS has cut its rating on the engineering group to “neutral” and lowered its price target from 1,200p to 1,145p. The broker raises concerns about a possible slowdown in Amec’s end-markets and believes earnings momentum, once acquisitions are stripped out, is likely to head lower. CAPITA Panmure Gordon keeps its “hold” recommendation and 950p [...]