ArcelorMittal disposes of $1.1bn stake in Canadian iron ore unit January 2, 2013 STEELMAKER ArcelorMittal said yesterday it would sell a 15 per cent stake in a Canadian mine operator to an Asian consortium led by South Korean POSCO and Taiwan-listed China Steel in a deal worth $1.1bn (£674m). Through the stake in ArcelorMittal Mines Canada, the consortium will acquire the Labrador Trough iron ore mining and infrastructure [...]
Production begins at BP’s Skarv January 2, 2013 Oil major BP has kicked off production at the Skarv field in the Norwegian Sea. Skarv, which is offshore the west coast of Norway, has an estimated recovery of around 100m barrels of oil and more than 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to BP. The field, which will ramp up output in the [...]
Weir sells LGE to Babcock for £23m January 2, 2013 Engineer Babcock has acquired a liquid gas services company from the Weir Group for £23m, it said yesterday. LGE Process, which designs and builds plants for the processing, storage and handling of liquid gases, will be combined with Babcock’s design services business unit. In the year to December LGE posted gross revenue of £26.3m, Babcock [...]
Kingfisher loses flying licence January 2, 2013 Troubled airline Kingfisher has suffered another blow, after the Indian government’s aviation authorities refused to renew the company’s flying licence. Kingfisher Airlines was told to pay employees their past-due salaries before a new permit will be granted. The carrier has not left the ground since October, when its engineers and pilots went on strike. The [...]
UK firms look to more upbeat 2013 economy January 2, 2013 BUSINESS expects the UK’s bumpy economic ride to stabilise into growth during 2013, according to two surveys out this morning. Company directors are far more optimistic than 12 months ago, according to a poll from the Institute of Directors (IoD). The number of directors who thought 2013 would be better than 2012 surged ahead of [...]
Manufacturing picks up in India and China January 2, 2013 INDIAN and Chinese factories dialled their activity up a notch as 2012 came to a close, but similar rises were not enjoyed across the rest of Asia. India’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) climbed to 54.7 in December, from 53.7 in November, Markit data revealed yesterday. As this value is further above 50, it signals [...]
Best of the Brokers January 2, 2013 DOMINO’S PIZZA Numis upgraded the takeaway pizza business to “buy” from “add” and keeps its target of 625p, believing the company is likely to generate strong growth in 2013. Numis expects to see new developments, such as a gluten free menu and higher ecommerce advertising, greater expansion with new stores in the UK and the [...]
Trained by Gandy January 2, 2013 ALONG WITH the smart phone revolution came the birth of the app. Nowadays we use them for everything from gaming and banking to music and editing photos but now, especially with the New Year in full swing, it’s all about fitness apps and UK model David Gandy is getting in on the action. Following the [...]
FTSE 100 punches through 6,000 mark January 2, 2013 The FTSE 100 smashed through the 6,000 barrier in trading today, as investors were heartened by the US fiscal cliff deal. The UK’s leading share index closed up 2.2 per cent today at 6,027, driven primarily by large rises in mining and financial shares, and mirroring sharp gains on global markets. US Congress backed the [...]
FTSE 100 rallies on US fiscal cliff deal January 2, 2013 Investors welcomed in the first trading day of the new year with a sharply higher blue chip index this morning, as the FTSE 100 rose around 90 points in early trading as US policymakers approved a deal to prevent the so-called fiscal cliff. Miners led the rally, with Eurasian Natural Resources, Rio Tinto, Anglo American [...]