Mixed January for US car retailers as Chrysler and Ford beat forecasts February 1, 2012 FIAT-OWNED Chrysler Group posted a 44 per cent rise in US car sales in January, led by gains for its Jeep brand, while its larger domestic rival General Motors lost ground in a month marked by modest growth. Chrysler’s sales blew past some analysts’ expectations of a 35 per cent increase, demonstrating the unlikely comeback [...]
De La Rue names new chairman February 1, 2012 Banknote printer De La Rue has named Philip Rogerson as its next chairman, adding to the chairmanships he already holds at Aggreko, Carillion and Bunzl. Rogerson will join the De La Rue board as a non-executive next month, and move to the chairman role when incumbent Nicholas Brookes retires at the AGM in July. Rogerson [...]
American Airlines takes axe to jobs February 1, 2012 AMR Corp, the bankrupt parent of American Airlines, may slash between 12,000 and 14,000 jobs as part of a bankruptcy cost-cutting strategy the carrier says is necessary to compete with rivals. Sources familiar with American’s plan said the job cuts detailed by executives in a meeting with labour groups yesterday would be part of an [...]
Buyout houses circle Iceland February 1, 2012 Two buyout houses have placed bids for frozen food retailer Iceland Foods, people familiar with the matter said yesterday, in an auction that the vendors hope will value the business at around £1.5bn. The bids from BC Partners and Bain Capital are “aggressive” the people said, although they did not indicate whether supermarket chain Wm [...]
ENRC output hit by repairs to equipment February 1, 2012 KAZAKH mining group ENRC yesterday revealed that output from its key ferroalloys and iron ore divisions was badly dented in the fourth quarter of 2011 by the need for emergency repairs. The London listed miner said production of ferroalloys dropped in the quarter, with the division suffering as a furnace malfunctioned. Saleable output dived by [...]
Antofagasta sees copper production jump by 13pc February 1, 2012 COPPER miner Antofagasta aims to increase production by more than nine per cent this year, anticipating slower output growth after an almost 23 per cent jump in 2011 when the miner topped its targeted range, thanks to the ramp up of its Esperanza mine. The FTSE 100-listed miner said copper production in the fourth quarter [...]
China and US help Johnson Matthey sales February 1, 2012 JOHNSON Matthey, the world’s largest supplier of catalytic converters for vehicles, expects second-half profits to be “slightly ahead” of the first, after a third quarter boosted by Chinese sales and North American truck sales. The British speciality chemicals company said yesterday underlying profit before tax rose 34 per cent to £104m in the quarter, in [...]
BHP Billiton sells titanium stake to Rio February 1, 2012 GLOBAL miner BHP Billiton yesterday announced that it had offloaded its stake in a South African titanium operation to rival Rio Tinto. The move marks the end of BHP’s participation in the titanium minerals industry. BHP said it had exercised an option to sell its 37 per cent stake in Richard Bay Minerals to Rio [...]
United Utilities is on track for full year with rising revenues February 1, 2012 UNITED Utilities, Britain’s largest listed water utility, said yesterday it was on track to deliver a good underlying performance for the full year. “In the first half of 2011-12, revenue increased by around four per cent, compared with the first half of last year, and this trend is continuing,” the company said. United Utilities added [...]
Range gets boost in Trinidad February 1, 2012 Range Resources yesterday raised proven estimates for its oil fields in Trinidad by 490 per cent to 12.8m barrels, following engineering studies on the assets. Range, which is dual listed in Australia and the UK, said work has begun on spudding a third well at its Texas North Chapman project, and that its Beach Marcelle [...]