E.ON signs five year UK gas deal April 30, 2012 ■ Noble Clean Fuels has boosted its presence in Britain’s gas storage market by signing a five-year agreement with E.ON’s Gas Storage UK to lease the full capacity at its new Holford storage facility in Cheshire. From today, the Singapore-listed commodities firm can start using the site’s initial 60m cubic metres (mcm) storage capacity, which [...]
Fidessa pumps in research funds April 30, 2012 ■ Software provider to the financial services industry Fidessa yesterday said trading conditions remained tough despite reporting growth in the first quarter of 2012. The company said it was pumping money into research and development. It said in the update covering the three months from January: “Fidessa continues to have a strong balance sheet with [...]
Creston back on track after cuts April 30, 2012 ■ Marketing firm Creston said yesterday it had bounced back after issuing a profit warning in January. It has reduced operating costs in a move to get back on track. Pre-tax profits before exceptionals in the year to March 2012 should hit forecasts while revenues were around £75m – 11 per cent up on the [...]
WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 30, 2012 BNY Mellon The financial services firm has appointed Peter Hazou as head of market management for treasury services, Europe, Middle East and Africa. He will report to Susan Skerritt, global head of business strategy and market solutions. Hazou joins from UniCredit, where he served as head of strategy and business development, global transaction banking. While [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 30, 2012 RANDGOLD RESOURCES Nomura has downgraded the gold miner from “neutral” to “reduce” and cut its target price from 7115p to 6970p, surprised that despite a structural shift in political risk due to a recent coup in Mali, Randgold’s de-rating has only been generally in line with wider market sell-off. CARPHONE WAREHOUSE UBS has left its [...]
Slowdown in US economy weighs on S&P April 30, 2012 U S STOCKS dipped yesterday, dragging the S&P 500 into its first monthly decline since November on signs the US economy may be slowing and as a recession in Spain highlighted risks in the Eurozone. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.11 per cent to 13,213.63. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.39 per cent to [...]
FTSE dips in April as euro debts sap confidence April 30, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index snapped a four-session winning streak yesterday and ended lower for the month of April, with Man Group and SSE falling on earnings worries as Europe’s debt crisis rumbles on. The FTSE closed off 39.33 points, or 0.7 per cent lower at 5,737.78, and ended April down 0.5 per cent as concerns [...]
The mayoral debate: Boris and Ken issue their final message to voters April 30, 2012 THIS election comes when we have been going through the toughest times that anyone can remember. The big question is therefore blindingly simple. It is about who has the best plan for the jobs and growth that will help bring prosperity to all. It is about who will deliver the investment – from central government [...]
Double-dip alarm is premature and politically driven April 30, 2012 ACCORDING to the latest figures, Britain has fallen back into recession. Some have seized the opportunity to pin the blame on the coalition’s austerity measures, but I don’t believe that’s right, for two reasons: first, this isn’t austerity, and second, I’m not convinced there’s a recession. Let’s be clear: a budget deficit equal to 7.7 [...]
A year after Osama Bin Laden’s death, is the world now a significantly safer place? April 30, 2012 YES Robin Simcox The world is undoubtedly a safer place following Osama bin Laden’s death. Al-Qaeda finds it easy to replenish mid-level commanders and footsoldiers, but a figurehead like bin Laden is virtually irreplaceable. Bin Laden’s sermons inspired Islamist extremists around the world to fight and die in his name; he also had military legitimacy, [...]
