US accuses BP of negligence over Gulf spill September 5, 2012 BP is facing a multi-billion dollar lawsuit from the US government for gross negligence relating to the Macondo oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon disaster, which happened in April 2010, caused BP’s share price to plummet to almost half its value. In a filing to the Department of Justice (DoJ), the US government yesterday accused BP [...]
More than 3,000 miners strike again at Lonmin’s Marikana September 5, 2012 MORE than 3,000 striking South African miners launched a fresh attack on London-listed Lonmin’s Marikana mine yesterday, as peace talks between the company’s management, unions and the government continued. It marked the largest protest at Marikana since 44 mine workers were killed during recent clashes with police. The majority of the arrested miners were freed [...]
Shell charges ahead with its CCS project September 5, 2012 ANGLO-DUTCH oil giant Shell said yesterday it will go ahead with its $1.35bn (£840m) carbon capture and storage (CCS) project for an oil sand operation in Canada. The flagship Quest project is designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at its 255,000 barrel a day Scotford oil sands project in Canada. It is to be built [...]
UK eighth most competitive in global survey September 5, 2012 THE UK jumped two places in this year’s global competitiveness report, released yesterday by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Britain placed eighth in the world for competitiveness, leapfrogging Denmark and Japan, based on marginal improvements across the board – except its macroeconomy. The macroeconomic environment worsened by 0.5 points according to WEF’s index, as the [...]
Allocated seats for all Easyjet flights for a fee September 5, 2012 TRAVELLERS flying EasyJet will soon be spared of lengthy queues and scrambling to secure a good seat after the budget airline announced yesterday it is to introduce allocated seating on all flights. The company said passengers will have the option of choosing from three brands of pricing depending on where they want to sit – [...]
Profits surge at Hargreaves as founder leaves September 5, 2012 HARGREAVES Lansdown founder Peter Hargreaves yesterday criticised big consumer companies for failing to treat customers as individuals. Hailing a “sparkling” set of full year results for the firm, he said clients’ trust in the firm had boosted its performance, a factor he said was all too readily neglected by other consumer and financial firms with [...]
Direct Line to cut 900 jobs ahead of IPO September 5, 2012 DIRECT Line Group yesterday announced plans to sack 891 workers in the “first phase” of a substantial cost-cutting programme ahead of the insurance group’s London float, expected next month. Around 500 sales staff will go with the closure of a call centre in Stockton-on-Tees, near Middlesbrough, with the work transferred elsewhere in the UK. Several hundred [...]
Top MP hits out at Barclays tax dodge claims September 5, 2012 BARCLAYS’ evidence to the Treasury Select Committee of MPs on tax avoidance measures directly contradicts that given by the chancellor, the committee’s influential chairman Andrew Tyrie declared today, demanding an explanation from the bank. HM Revenue and Customs retrospectively clamped down on the bank in February after it reduced its tax bill by roughly £300m [...]
City job vacancies edge up yet market remains down on 2011 September 5, 2012 THE CITY jobs market surprisingly picked up in August as the Olympic Games failed to dent activity in the Square Mile, a top recruiter said this morning. Yet Morgan McKinley, which published the research, also warned that financial sector employment prospects remain worse than at this time last year. There was a five per cent lift in [...]
EC takes next step in campaign to make Libor-fixing a crime September 5, 2012 TOP REGULATOR Michel Barnier yesterday launched a consultation on the future of Libor and other similar key lending rates as he seeks to clamp down on financial manipulation across the EU. The European Commission (EC) wants to make rate-rigging a crime, alongside insider dealing and market manipulation – and that could mean jail terms for [...]
