Kier keeps its order book full and trades well June 25, 2012 CONSTRUCTION group Kier yesterday said it continued to perform in line with expectations as it maintains a robust order book and a healthy cash position. The group cited trading at its construction division as “resilient” with current operating margins above two per cent. Its construction order book of secured and probable work now accounts for [...]
Premier Oil is hit as North Sea exploration well comes in dry June 25, 2012 BRITISH oil explorer Premier Oil said yesterday that its latest exploration well in the North Sea came up dry. Shares in the FTSE 250 group dropped 4.76 per cent after the company issued a statement saying that it had plugged and abandoned Block 28/10, known as Coaster, as a “dry hole”. It also said that [...]
Anglo American extend talks with Codelco June 25, 2012 MINER Anglo American and Chile’s Codelco have agreed to extend talks as they seek to negotiate an agreement over Anglo Sur mining assets. The companies jointly requested continued suspension of their months-long legal dispute at a court in the Chilean capital Santiago until 17 July. The two sides have been waging an acrimonious battle since [...]
London 2012 will be most expensive Olympics ever June 25, 2012 LONDON 2012 is set to be the most expensive Olympics to date with a projected cost of £8.4bn, according to a report released yesterday. Researchers at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School say this equates to a 101 per cent overrun compared to the original budget of just £4.2bn in 2005. But Professor Bent [...]
Samsung calms investors with solid forecasts June 25, 2012 SAMSUNG executives leapt to reassure investors yesterday over the company’s performance after its shares fell by 4.4 per cent to a four month low. Since the launch last month of its latest smartphone, the Galaxy SIII, Samsung has been cursed with the blessing of overwhelming demand. But the South Korean firm revealed it expects to [...]
Campaigners for women in boardrooms oppose quotas June 25, 2012 A House of Lords select committee yesterday heard campaigners for female representation in boardrooms reject calls for fixed quotas of female directors. Lords were urged to fight against European legislation on the issue in favour of self-regulation at a meeting of an EU sub-committee. “We are reaching a tipping point where chairmen who have the [...]
New Look to close stores as it falls to a loss June 25, 2012 NEW LOOK said yesterday it had won extra time from its banks to pay back its burgeoning debt pile as the fashion chain slumped to a £55m pre-tax loss for the year. The retailer, owned by founder Tom Singh and private equity groups Apax Partners and Permira, said its lenders had agreed to extend its [...]
Lenovo shares plummet on PC market worries June 25, 2012 SHARES of Lenovo Group, the world’s number two PC maker, fell by more than six per cent yesterday on market concern over the outlook for the PC market amid the global economic slowdown. Lenovo’s shares fell as much as 6.3 per cent to HK$6.26 in afternoon trading, extending earlier losses and hitting the lowest intraday [...]
WPP boosts its empire with I&E French buy June 25, 2012 ADVERTISING giant WPP yesterday kept up its blistering acquisition-fuelled growth pace with the purchase of French firm I&E for an undisclosed sum. The communications consultancy business will become part of WPP’s wholly-owned subsidiary Burson-Marsteller. Paris-based I&E – which specialises in reputation management, brand marketing and change management – employs around 110 people. France is WPP’s [...]
Sony and Panasonic launch tie-up for latest design TVs June 25, 2012 RIVAL Japanese television makers Sony and Panasonic said yesterday they will cooperate to make OLED (organic light emitting diode) sets as they battle Korean rivals Samsung and LG Electronics for pole position in the next-generation TV market. The race to garner a lead in OLED, widely touted as the successor to liquid-crystal displays, will depend [...]
