FTSE 100 firmly up on Glenstrata deal October 1, 2012 Banks and miners led the blue chip index up in early trading, as the £56bn mining mega-merger of Xstrata and Glencore stole the headlines. Better-than-expected results from the Spanish bank stress tests boosted UK financial shares. Barclays was up 2.89 per cent in early trading, followed by RBS, which added 2.06 per cent. HSBC was [...]
Chinese manufacturing contracts for second consecutive month October 1, 2012 Chinese manufacturing fell for the second straight month in September, fuelling fears that China is continuing to struggle in the face of low demand from the US and Europe. The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose modestly to 49.8 in September from 49.2 in August, the lowest reading since November 2011. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. [...]
Alstom nets £325m power station contract October 1, 2012 French transport and power engineering group Alstom said this morning it had won a £325m contract for a gas-fired power station near Manchester. Alstom will supply service equipment to the new power plant at Carrington. The contract has been signed with Spanish construction firm Duro Felguera, which will build the new plant. The power station [...]
Lagardere asks EADS to review BAE merger October 1, 2012 EADS shareholder Lagardere this morning said that the mega-merger with BAE has not yet shown that it could create value for the defence and aerospace company. In a statement, the French publishing firm said a review is “indispensable”, adding that the current merger conditions are unsatisfactory. Lagardere owns 7.5 per cent of EADS. Last month, [...]
Xstrata backs £56bn Glencore mega-merger October 1, 2012 Xstrata has green-lit the £56bn merger with Glencore, though with conditions. An independent board of directors at the miner has revised the voting structure to allow shareholders to support the deal, but object to the retention plan for key managers. Sir John Bond, chairman of Xstrata, said today that following opposition from shareholders the directors [...]
Harvey Nash confident on full-year targets September 28, 2012 Global professional services group Harvey Nash reported increased revenue and operating profit for the six months to 31 July today, despite taxing trading conditions. Revenue was up 15 per cent compared to last year’s period to £292.5m, while operating profit was up 11 per cent. Operating profit increased across the whole group with main countries [...]
OFT launches car insurance probe September 28, 2012 The Office of Fair Trading referred the UK’s car insurance industry to the Competition Commission for further investigation amid concerns that the market is not working well for motorists, it announced today. The decision came after a market study said there was suspicion that some features of the market prevent, restrict or distort competition. The [...]
Lansdowne slides to bigger first-half loss September 28, 2012 Lansdowne Oil & Gas slid to a £620,000 loss over the six months to 30 June, compared to a loss of £429,000 the year before, the Dublin-based group announced today. Chairman John Greenall said today that his highlight over the six months was the Barryroe oil field, in which Lansdowne has a 20 per cent [...]
Direct Line float priced at £2.6bn September 28, 2012 Direct Line today announced that it would price its IPO at £2.6bn, slightly below analysts’ expectations. The insurance firm, owned by high-street bank RBS, will offer up between 375m to 500m shares when it lists on the London Stock Exchange on 11 October. RBS, which is 83 per cent-owned by the government, had to either [...]
Heineken wins Tiger beer battle September 28, 2012 Heineken won control of Asia Pacific Breweries, the maker of Tiger beer, for S$5.6bn (£2.8bn) this morning. The Dutch brewer bought partner Fraser and Neave’s 40 percent stake in APB, which has 30 breweries in 14 countries, taking its stake in APB from 55.6 per cent to 95.3 per cent. “Our regional headquarters will remain [...]
