BEST OF THE BROKERS November 20, 2011 HAMWORTHY Evolution Securities downgrades the marine, oil and gas services firm from add to “reduce” with a target price of 825p after it said it was in talks with Finnish marine engineering group Wartsila over a possible takeover offer. The target price was raised to match the potential offer price, but the broker cut its [...]
Eurozone funding eases but fears remain November 18, 2011 The cost of borrowing for some of the eurozone’s biggest countries eased today after a torrid week that saw record highs raise fears of defaults. Traders speculated the European Central Bank (ECB) was stepping in to buy bonds and drive the costs down. Yields on Spanish 10 year notes fell to 6.41 per cent, a [...]
Occupy London ‘repossesses’ bank building November 18, 2011 The anti-capitalist group Occupy London expanded its occupation of the city last night when a dozen protesters took over an empty UBS bank building in Hackney. The group, which is fighting for social and economic justice, is claiming legal rights to the office space since it has not been in use for several years, said [...]
BP seals Indian joint venture deal November 18, 2011 BP is setting up a joint venture with Indian energy company Reliance Industries to source and market natural gas in India, the companies have announced. The joint venture, India Gas Solutions (IGS), will also develop infrastructure for transporting gas in the country. IGS will take over contracts for supply from the KG D6 block off [...]
ABN Amro reports loss on Greek debt write-off November 18, 2011 Nationalised Dutch bank ABN Amro suffered a loss of €54m (£46.1m) in the third quarter as it wrote down the value of Greek corporate debt, the bank reported today.. The bank, which was bought by RBS in 2007 and then nationalized in 2010, wrote off €500m of the money owed to it by state-owned transport [...]
Statoil to buy stake in offshore Suriname November 18, 2011 Norwegian oil company Statoil is moving into offshore Suriname by buying a stake in Tullow Oil’s exploration rights. Statoil will own 30 per cent of the block 47 territory, with Tullow retaining the other 70 per cent. Royal Dutch Shell and French firm Total have also invested in the area, seen by Tullow as a [...]
Markets dragged down by weak banks November 18, 2011 The FTSE 100 edged lower today as the ongoing crisis with Eurozone debt continued to sap investor confidence, particularly in banks. Across Europe markets slumped, with the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares down 0.7 per cent in early trading. It is on course to fall more than three per cent over the week, [...]
Evolution axes 60 investment banking jobs November 18, 2011 Evolution Group, the mid-sized investment bank that is being taken over by South African rival Investec, said it will cut 60 jobs as a result of tough market conditions. “Due to the current depressed levels of income within the business, management has taken action to reduce the cost base from quarter four onwards,” Evolution said [...]
Tullett trading slows November 18, 2011 Broker Tullett Prebon said trading activity has slowed in recent weeks, leaving its revenue for the year flat on last year, after a stronger trading period to the end of last month. Tullett said in an emailed statement that revenue for the four months to the end of October was 8 percent higher than last [...]
Capita hit by economic headwinds November 18, 2011 Outsourcing group Capita said continued spending pressure on cash-strapped clients meant it would only deliver “reasonable” 2011 revenue growth, although a strong bid pipeline left it more positive for 2012. Capita, which runs the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and the Criminal Records Bureau in the UK, said on Friday it expected full-year revenue growth to be [...]