Petrofac loses out on $10bn in contracts amid SFO probe June 25, 2019 A Serious Fraud Office investigation into Petrofac has made the company lose out on $10bn (£7.8bn) of contracts, its chief financial officer said today. Alastair Cochran said that a guilty please from its former head of sales, David Lufkin, came just as Petrofac was bidding for contracts. The oilfield servicer lost about $2bn to $3bn [...]
Sandfire takes MOD Resources private in £91m deal June 25, 2019 An Australian miner will pay AU$167m (£91m) for London-listed MOD Resources, it said today, in a deal back by at least one major shareholder. Sydney-listed Sandfire said the deal gives it a chance to take on the “under-explored” Kalahari copper belt in Botswana. Read more: Shareholder Barrick ‘undermined’ our efforts to negotiate $190bn tax bill, [...]
Abbvie injects $63bn into takeover of Botox-maker Allergan June 25, 2019 US drugmaker Abbvie is set to buy the maker of Botox in a $63bn bid to reduce its reliance on a key drug. The cash-and-share deal for Allergan was announced today following reports in the Wall Street Journal. Read more: Pfizer confirms it has has scrapped its $160bn merger with Allergan – but UK pharma [...]
Ranked: The best and worst UK energy suppliers June 25, 2019 The head of Citizens Advice has called for stricter requirements on energy companies as “far too many” struggle to give their customers good service. Gillian Guy said that a large number of companies are letting their customers down, as the consumer champion released its quarterly rankings. Read more: Complaints surge as more energy customers have [...]
Shareholder Barrick ‘undermined’ our efforts to negotiate $190bn tax bill, Acacia says June 24, 2019 Acacia Mining hit out at Barrick Gold today as the firms trade jibes over a potential takeover bid. Acacia, a Tanzania-focused gold company, accused Barrick of undermining its attempts to negotiate with the country’s government. Read more: Barrick Gold mulls $787m bid for Acacia amid spat with Tanzania Taxing problems The miner has faced a [...]
Oil prices tick up amid Middle East tensions June 24, 2019 Oil prices rose this morning as markets reacted to increasing tensions in the Middle East. The price of international standard Brent Crude reached highs of $65.74 this morning, before giving back some gains later in the day. At around 10.45am the black stuff was up 0.3 per cent to $65.39. Read more: Trump cancelled Iran [...]
Gender pension gap revealed as women twice as likely not to save for retirement June 24, 2019 Women in the UK are twice as likely as men to not save for retirement, new research has revealed. One third of British women have no pension plan, against only 17 per cent of men. Read more: Gender pay gap data reveals the financial services with wider than average discrepancies Meanwhile, 41 per cent of [...]
EDF seeks guarantee for nuclear project June 23, 2019 French energy giant EDF wants a government guarantee of help if a £20bn nuclear power station runs over budget. The firm is telling potential investors in its Sizewell C plant that it wants ministers to step in with a guarantee on the project, the Sunday Times reported. Read more: Government headache as Hitachi pulls out [...]
Odey bets against £1.9bn BCA takeover June 23, 2019 Star hedge fund manager Crispin Odey upped his bet against BCA Marketplace this week, even as the company’s shares soared on a takeover approach. Odey, who believes the deal will likely fall through, is preparing to cash in. Read more: City hedge fund giant Crispin Odey backs emerging fintech startup Jumo His firm, Odey Asset [...]
Households face £172m bill after slew of energy suppliers fail June 21, 2019 The head of Citizens Advice has called on the government to act as households face a £172m bill after 11 suppliers collapsed. Gillian Guy said consumers should not be left to bail out the industry when companies go out of business. Read more: Energy supplier owed £12m to customers when it went out of business [...]
