Banks have not lent out ECB’s €1 trillion boost March 28, 2012 BANK lending to the private sector fell again in the Eurozone last month, with central bank efforts to get credit flowing barely impacting the “real economy,” data showed yesterday. Loans to non-financial firms fell €3bn (£2.52bn) in the month, down from growth of €1bn in January, the European Central Bank data showed. That takes annual [...]
French GDP grinds to a halt as household incomes stagnate March 28, 2012 FRENCH economic growth slowed to a crawl at the end of 2011, official data confirmed yesterday. GDP edged up by 0.2 per cent in the final quarter of the year, slightly slower than the 0.3 per cent gain in the previous three-month period. For the year as a whole the economy expanded 1.7 per cent, [...]
Worries over US recovery as manufacturing sales weaken March 28, 2012 DOUBTS grew over the manufacturing recovery in the US as new orders rose by less than expected in February, according to data out yesterday. Durable goods orders rose 2.2 per cent, less than the three per cent forecast by economists and only partially reversing January’s revised 3.6 per cent decline, the commerce department revealed. Manufacturing [...]
Ophir in £150m placing to fund its African plan March 28, 2012 AFRICA-FOCUSED oil and gas firm Ophir Energy yesterday raised £150m in a placing to fund three exploratory wells on blocks in Tanzania and Kenya, and aims to acquire additional blocks in the region. The company successfully placed 30.5m new shares priced at 495p each. The placing will bolster the firm’s strong cash position, giving it [...]
BATS strips Ratterman of chairman role March 28, 2012 BATS Global Markets has stripped chief executive Joe Ratterman of the chairman’s role, days after the third-largest US exchange operator’s botched initial public offering (IPO). The board, however, said it unanimously supported Ratterman as president and chief executive of the company and cited better corporate governance as the reason for splitting the CEO and chairman [...]
ADVISERS J.P. MORGAN CAZENOVE March 28, 2012 The execution of the deal was led by Chris Nicholls who is an executive director in the UK corporate finance team at JP Morgan Cazenove. Nicholls also led on the initial public offering of Ophir in July 2011 and has led successful equity raises in recent years for numerous UK companies including John Laing Infrastructure, [...]
Evraz warns of tough 2012 as profit falls back March 28, 2012 EVRAZ, Russia’s largest steelmaker, has said that the outlook for the global steel industry will remain tough this year after its 2011 net profit missed market expectations by 31 per cent. The FTSE 100-listed company, part-owned by tycoon Roman Abramovich, posted 2011 net profit of $453m (£285.3m) – below the $661m forecast by analysts and [...]
Petropavlovsk looks to hike its gold production target for year March 28, 2012 RUSSIAN gold miner Petropavlovsk is likely to increase its 2012 production target to reflect an increase in capacity at its flagship mines, chairman Peter Hambro has said. The company, which operates open-pit mines in the Russian far east, is forecasting a 680,000 ounce production figure in 2012 – around eight per cent higher than last [...]
MAGIC GROUP SNAPS UP THE LA DODGERS March 28, 2012 LOS ANGELES Dodgers and owner Frank McCourt said yesterday that Guggenheim Baseball Management will buy the baseball team for $2bn (£1.3bn), helping the Dodgers to finally emerge out of bankruptcy protection. The buying group includes Mark Walter, as well as basketball superstar Magic Johnson, Peter Guber, Stan Kasten, Bobby Patton and Todd Boehly.
StanChart shuts in Afghanistan March 28, 2012 Standard Chartered has made plans to close its retail business in Afghanistan, transferring its operations to local bank Afghanistan International Bank. Standard Chartered’s business in Afghanistan consists of one branch, nine ATMs and gross assets of $229m (£144.2m). Subject to regulatory approval, StanChart will maintain a correspondent banking relationship with the local bank that will [...]