BP to sell inaugural Australian dollar bonds August 29, 2012 British oil company BP is looking to sell an inaugural Australian dollar bond issue in a rare “kangaroo” offer, bringing a fresh industrial face to a market crowded with financial and sovereign borrowers. Kangaroo bonds refer to Australian dollar bonds sold by international issuers in Australia. Offshore borrowers have been historically reluctant to raise Australian [...]
Samsung to bounce back with new Note phablet August 29, 2012 Samsung unveils the second generation of its popular Galaxy Note phone-cum-tablet at Europe’s biggest electronics show in Berlin later today, as the South Korean firm comes under pressure to innovate after losing a US patent battle with Apple. A US federal jury last week found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and awarded [...]
Serco profit hit by reshuffle and slow US market August 29, 2012 Outsourcing group Serco said recent contract wins would help it deliver a strong full-year performance, after reorganisation costs and delays in the award of US federal work pushed first half profit down 17 per cent. The British firm, which runs services from London’s light rail to prisons and air traffic control centres around the world, [...]
G4S takes £50m hit from Olympics contract fiasco August 28, 2012 Security firm G4S, at the centre of a political and media storm over its failure to provide enough guards for the London Olympics, said the fiasco would cost it £50m and it was fighting to rebuild its reputation. Under-fire boss Nick Buckles, hauled before MPs last month to explain why troops had to be drafted [...]
FTSE 100 lower on Eurozone uncertainty August 28, 2012 The headline index opened lower on the first business day after the summer bank holiday, thanks to gloomy economic news from Germany and uncertainty over the European Central Bank’s plans to contain the debt crisis. Specialist chemicals maker Yule Catto was the strongest riser this morning, up 6.35 per cent on the back of announcing [...]
Cairn buys further position in Morocco August 28, 2012 British oil firm Cairn Energy bought a further position to hunt for oil and gas off the coast of Morocco, building on its strategy to balance its exploration portfolio beyond high-risk Greenland. The company said today that it would pay $60m (£38m) towards the costs of an exploration well in Morocco in return for a [...]
Lamprell reassures after swinging to first-half loss August 28, 2012 Oil rig maker Lamprell reassured on its future saying that its bid pipeline was positive and it was confident of the support of its banks after posting a loss in a torrid first half marred by the impact of contract delays. Lamprell, which this year has issued a series of warnings on its performance, said [...]
UK service sector business weakens August 28, 2012 Business in Britain’s service sector shrank between June and August and confidence dwindled as firms reported a lack of demand, a survey showed today, suggesting that any recovery from recession will be long and arduous. Britain’s economic slump deepened in the second quarter and business surveys, such as the latest quarterly poll by the Confederation [...]
G4S cuts 1,100 jobs after Olympic failure August 28, 2012 G4S, the company at the heart of the London Olympics security debacle, said it would cut 1,100 jobs as it looks to recover £50m lost on the Games contract. G4S dominated headlines in July after failing to provide a promised 10,400 security guards for the London Olympics, placing chief executive Nick Buckles’ job in question [...]
BoE says Britons would be worse off without QE August 23, 2012 The Bank of England defended today its policy of government bond purchases against criticism from savers and pensioners, saying recession would have been deeper and most Britons would have been worse off without its stimulus measures. The central bank has come under fire from politicians, the pension fund industry and lobby groups, claiming that the [...]
