Genel unsure on Kurdistan well May 29, 2012 Gulf Keystone Petroleum and Genel Energy said yesterday results from the first exploration well on the Ber Bahr block in Iraq’s autonomous northern Kurdish region were inconclusive, and the companies could not say whether it was commercially viable. The well will be temporarily suspended while a rig is moved to the location to conduct an [...]
Ithaca plummets as bid talks end May 29, 2012 Shares in Ithaca Energy fell 30 per cent yesterday after the North Sea explorer said it had called off takeover discussions with all interested parties. Ithaca said that the potential offers did not match the price it was looking for, and that instead it would focus on developing its North Sea portfolio. The company said [...]
Cobham extends Santos contract May 29, 2012 Defence group Cobham said yesterday it had extended a contract with energy company Santos to provide “fly-in fly-out” services to the Cooper Basin region in southern Australia. The £31.5m contract has been extended by six years, and will now run until 2018.
Sany tries again for Hong Kong IPO May 29, 2012 Shanghai-listed construction machinery maker Sany Heavy Industry has filed for a $2bn (£1.28bn) Hong Kong listing. The company, which postponed a Hong Kong float last year, has reportedly lowered the amount it hopes to raise from $3.3bn.
CBI May retail sales balance much stronger than expected May 29, 2012 British retail sales grew at their fastest pace in over a year in May and much more strongly than expected, helped by strong sales of clothing and durable goods, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed today. The CBI monthly distributive trades survey’s reported sales balance rose to +21 from -6 in April, [...]
Osborne foiled over pasty tax May 28, 2012 GEORGE Osborne, the chancellor, was forced into another embarrassing U-turn last night as he watered down his controversial “pasty tax”. Osborne had hoped to iron out quirks in the tax system when he set out plans in his March Budget to extend VAT at 20 per cent to hot takeaway food – but failed to [...]
PM and King make plans for Grexit May 28, 2012 TOP GOVERNMENT and Bank of England figures met yesterday to bash out a plan of action in case of a Eurozone breakup, as the crisis in Greece and Spain intensifies. Prime Minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne met Bank boss Mervyn King and Financial Services Authority head Adair Turner to decide how the authorities [...]
Closure looms for critical link in London’s oil supply May 28, 2012 THE Essex oil refinery that also supplies around a fifth of the fuel requirements of London and the south-east is to close, after PwC yesterday announced that it had failed to find a buyer at the £625m price necessary to sustain the site. However, concerns over London’s petrol supply as a result of the closure [...]
Man jailed for drug scam that cost Reckitt £2m May 28, 2012 A CODEINE addict whose drug-swapping scam ended up costing Reckitt Benckiser £2.4m in a huge recall of Nurofen Plus packets was yesterday jailed for 18 months for causing a public nuisance. Christopher McGuire sparked panic last August when strips of anti-psychotic drug Seroquel were found in packets of the pharmacy-only painkiller Nurofen Plus. Reckitt spent [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 28, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Disclosure reprieve for activist investors Activist investors appear to have won at least a reprieve from new regulation that would force them to declare their hand earlier when building a stake in a company. The passage of the Jobs Act by Congress in March has forced the Securities and Exchange Commission to delay [...]