London workers more productive August 7, 2013 City residents account for nearly three times the GDP output per person than the UK average, according to a new study by trade union GMB. GDP using the purchasing power standard (PPS) per individual measure for people living in inner London is 2.92 times the UK average and 3.28 times that of the 27 countries [...]
Aviation panel publishes proposals August 7, 2013 The Airports Commission has published more than 100 reports it has received on options for boosting Britain’s air capacity. Chairman Sir Howard Davies told the BBC that the commission had sifted through a “wide spectrum” of proposals. The panel will publish a shortlist later this year.
Spain’s empty airport up for sale August 7, 2013 The Ciudad Real airport in La Mancha has been put up for sale with the bargain price tag of €100m. The airport, which has not hosted a flight since late 2011, cost €1.1bn to build in 2008. The new buyer will take on a full-sized runway, a barely-used terminal building and €529m of debts.
Randgold profit and sales fall on weak gold price August 7, 2013 FTSE 100-listed Randgold Resources’ share price fell over four per cent in early trading, after plunging gold prices caused the miner’s second quarter profits to fall by almost two thirds. Profit fell to $54.1m (£35m), down from $141m year-on-year and $81.6m quarter-on-quarter. Gold sales fell by 18 per cent from the previous quarter, due to a [...]
Bottom Line: Less than glittering results even for a firm prepared for a gold price fall August 7, 2013 LUCKY for Randgold that it built its business model to deliver returns even if the yellow metal’s price dived. Its reserves were calculated at $1,000/oz and so haven’t had to be written down even as the price fell this year from around $1,700/oz to near $1,300/oz. That said, these numbers are not glittering. Profit before [...]
Bupa hails UK arm recovery August 7, 2013 BUPA chief executive Stuart Fletcher declared yesterday that the firm’s UK health insurance business is recovering, having been “not economically sustainable” a year ago. The news followed the private healthcare group’s first-half results, which showed that cost cutting in its British business had almost doubled underlying profit to £59.2m on flat revenues of £1.255bn and [...]
Vodafone splashes out on sport content for new 4G customers August 7, 2013 VODAFONE became the latest of the big name mobile networks to announce the launch of 4G data services yesterday. Chief executive Guy Laurence confirmed that the switch-on for high-speed data content would begin in London on 29 August, with 12 cities to be 4G-ready before Christmas. He also revealed a deal with Spotify and Sky [...]
Jaguar Land Rover ups sales August 7, 2013 JAGUAR Land Rover aims to sell 100,000 cars in China this year, its chief executive Ralf Speth told reporters yesterday. Parent company Tata Motors posted a 23 per cent fall in quarterly profit as higher sales of its luxury Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles failed to offset sagging sales at home. JLR reported revenues of [...]
Kier fire stations get green light August 7, 2013 Construction firm Kier yesterday said that a £70m project with London Fire Brigade to design, build and maintain nine new fire stations in east and south-east London will go ahead. The government is providing £52m funding, while Kier and co-investor DIF Infrastructure II will provide the rest. “This is an excellent opportunity for us to [...]
Ferrexpo posts record production August 7, 2013 FTSE 250-listed iron ore miner Ferrexpo yesterday announced flat earnings of £244m which were broadly in line with analyst expectations, as record production over the first half of the year offset lower metal prices. The company said it expects production to increase in the second half and is on track to complete its $647m (£417m) [...]