I recreated all my favourite TV tropes, from crawling through pipes to being two kids in a trenchcoat
UK Commercial swings to a loss August 21, 2012 UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCPT) swung into the red in the first half of the year and suffered a decline in its net asset value. The largest UK commercial property trust yesterday posted a loss before tax of £4.43m in the six months to 30 June against a profit of £32.8m this time last year, [...]
Mortgage and savings fraud soar August 21, 2012 Measured fraud in the mortgage industry soared between April and June, while across financial services as a whole fraud inched down, according to figures from Experian. Thirty-nine in every 10,000 mortgage applications were fraudulent in the second quarter of 2012, a rise of seven on the same period in 2011. Of these, almost a quarter [...]
Oman delays weigh on John Wood Group August 21, 2012 BRITISH energy services company John Wood Group is working hard to resolve problems with two key contracts that are holding it back, its chief executive said yesterday. Delays in a contract with Petroleum Development Oman have ratcheted up losses on the project and weighed on John Wood’s shares, but the company said that it expects [...]
Pirc hits out at Essar chairman August 21, 2012 SHAREHOLDER advisory body Pirc has advised investors in Essar Energy to vote down the firm’s chairman Prashant Ruia. Pirc has concerns that Ruia, whose family has a large indirect interest in the London-listed firm, is not sufficiently independent to be an effective chairman. Essar appointed Prashant after his uncle Ravi stepped down from the role [...]
CNOOC profits and dividend fall August 21, 2012 China’s leading offshore oil producer CNOOC Ltd said yesterday its first-half net profit fell by almost a fifth – twice as much as the market had expected – and it cut its dividend by 40 per cent to make room for its $15.1bn acquisition of Canadian oil firm Nexen. Shares fell as much as 5.5 [...]
Bad first half at Gem Diamonds August 21, 2012 Gem Diamonds’ first-half profit has more than halved, it said yesterday, hurt by a rise in costs and lower prices for the precious stone during the period. Profit before tax was $36.3m (£23m), down from $79m a year earlier. Revenue fell nine per cent to $180.2m. Cost of sales rose about 28 per cent to [...]
Severfield drops on merger plans August 21, 2012 Shares in steel firm steel firm Severfield-Rowen fell yesterday after it announced plans to merge three of its UK businesses, and said underlying profit for the first half of the year was down 42 per cent. Profit before tax for the period was £1.5m, compared with £3.4m the year before.
Lindt hit by Eurozone woes August 21, 2012 Lindt & Spruengli’s said yesterday it expects consumers to become even more cautious as the Eurozone crisis drags on as it reported a first-half net profit that fell short of expectations. The confectioner, famous for its gold foil-wrapped rabbits, saw net profit rise 14 per cent to SFr36.6m (£23.8m).
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs August 21, 2012 Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors David Lyscom has been appointed policy director of the professional membership body. He is a former UK ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and was also previously UK ambassador to Slovakia and the International Energy Agency (IEA). He will report to Dr Ian Peters, the institute’s [...]
BEST of the BROKERS August 21, 2012 AFRICAN BARRICK Canaccord Genuity has cut its target for African Barrick Gold, Tanzania’s largest gold miner, from 440p to 380p and maintained its “hold” rating. In mid-July the shares were trading at just 320p but takeover speculation has pushed up the price. MECOM Peel Hunt has upgraded publishing giant Mecom to “buy” with a target [...]
