Petrofac and National Grid plan UK carbon capture plant March 20, 2012 British energy network operator National Grid and London-listed oil and gas services firm Petrofac plan to build a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Britain with US partner Summit Power, the companies said. The consortium will apply for funding from the British government, which is due to relaunch a £1bn tender for CCS projects [...]
Regus to invest as profit doubles March 20, 2012 Regus more than doubled its operating profit for 2011 as cash-strapped firms chose the flexible office space supplier over fixed cost premises, and said that it would open another 200 locations this year to fuel further growth. The group, which offers ready-to-use offices for rentals as short as half a day in cities in 94 [...]
Debenhams sales up March 20, 2012 Debenhams, Britain’s second largest department store group, showed its resilience in tough markets with an improving sales performance in its first half. The firm, which trades from 167 stores in the UK, Ireland and Denmark and over 60 franchise stores in 24 international markets, said on Tuesday sales at stores open over a year rose [...]
Banks split on £20bn loan plans March 19, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT has been dealt a blow in its flagship credit scheme for small businesses after it failed to get all of the UK’s major banks on board. HSBC, which accounts for 15 per cent of the small business banking market, will not participate in the National Loan Guarantee Scheme (NLGS) unveiled today because the [...]
Consumers upbeat on job hopes March 19, 2012 THE ECONOMIC recovery is at last set to get underway, with consumer confidence on the way up, according to a survey published today. Nearly all measures of confidence rose in YouGov’s study, pushing its Heat index to a 18-month high of 98.6 in March, up 11 points on December’s figure and almost at levels seen [...]
Non doms flee UK tax attack March 19, 2012 THE NUMBER of individuals registered as non-domiciled with HM revenue and customs (HMRC) has fallen dramatically in the two years since a new levy was imposed on them, figures revealed yesterday. Labour chancellor Alistair Darling imposed in 2008 a £30,000 annual charge on “non-doms” who have worked in the UK for more than a few [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 19, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES SKY PULLED NEWS STORY ON F1 SHARES The chief executive of British Sky Broadcasting ordered a news story to be removed from the Sky News website after an executive producer complained that it had upset Formula 1 racing teams. Jeremy Darroch intervened after the article, which described a controversial agreement involving F1 chief [...]
Goldman Sachs starts staff cull March 19, 2012 Goldman Sachs has begun a new round of staff cuts in its trading and investment banking divisions, three sources familiar with the matter said, a sign of a continued penny-pinching at the biggest banks. The job cuts follow 2,400 positions Goldman eliminated last year. The latest round of cuts is part of Goldman’s annual culling [...]
Facebook banks get small fee March 19, 2012 Facebook will pay a fee of just 1.1 per cent to underwriters of its initial public offering, a source with knowledge of the company’s plans said yesterday. Facebook’s underwriters include Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Barclays and Allen & Co. Earlier this month, the company also named an additional 25 banks [...]
Apple bites the bullet on divi payouts March 19, 2012 APPLE announced yesterday it will pay investors a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share from July, ending a dry spell for shareholders that has lasted more than 16 years. Turning his back on Steve Jobs’ firm policy of not paying dividends, Apple boss Tim Cook re-introduced the payout – which will cost $9.88bn a year [...]