Egdon set to explore Lincolnshire December 5, 2013 UK shale explorer Egdon Resources yesterday said it had signed an agreement with Scottish Power to allow it to evaluate the potential of energy resources in Lincolnshire. Egdon has a year to explore, before either committing to drilling an exploration well, or else ending the agreement. Mark Abbott, Egdon managing director, said he was “delighted” [...]
Kirkland Lake Gold to cut spending December 5, 2013 Gold mining exploration firm Kirkland Lake Gold yesterday said it planned to slash spending by $2.1m for its 2014 financial year. The cut means it will have saved $5m overall for the year. The company says the latest spending reduction will mean a hiring freeze and the termination of some staff employment contracts. Chief executive [...]
Arria shares soar 50pc on debut December 5, 2013 Software development business Arria yesterday saw its shares soar over 50 per cent on its first day of trading on junior market Aim. Software from the firm, which uses technology developed at the University of Aberdeen, is currently used to create UK weather reports and by oil firms such as Shell to monitor equipment on [...]
DS Smith profit soars as market share increases December 5, 2013 PACKAGING firm DS Smith saw its share price soar over six per cent yesterday morning, after posting a 52 per cent rise in half-year profits that showed its European expansion plan is paying off. The FTSE 250 company, which packages McVities Hobnobs among other popular brands, said pre-tax profits rose to £85m and revenue rose [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of DH Smith’s half-year results yesterday? December 5, 2013 MIKE MURPHY NUMIS “Interim figures were in line with our expectations with organic volume growth of 2.2 per cent, which was ahead of the group’s target of one per cent above GDP. It remains on track to deliver the remaining €60m of savings over the next 18 months. We are not changing our forecasts for [...]
City Moves for 06 December 2013 | Who’s switching jobs December 5, 2013 Rowanmoor Group The pensions company has announced the appointment of Alan Godbeer as regional sales manager. He joins from Hornbuckle Mitchell, where he was a trustee consultant. Prior to that, Godbeer held various roles at Legal & General, Zurich Intermediary Group, and Scottish Equitable. Smith & Williamson The investment management and accountancy firm has recruited Michael Pagliari [...]
Timid new policies do little to address the risks behind Osborne’s good news December 5, 2013 FOR THE first time since before the financial crisis, the chancellor of the Exchequer was able to stand up and announce some good news at the Autumn Statement yesterday: the deficit, the labour market, and growth are all better than expected. Alistair Darling started by predicting a “trampoline” recovery when the recession first hit, with [...]
The chancellor did nothing to reverse the decline in long-term savings December 5, 2013 THE AUTUMN Statement confirmed what we already knew. The UK recovery is on track and is set to strengthen. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) now expects growth of 1.4 per cent in 2013 and 2.4 per cent in 2014. In fact, these forecasts will likely be exceeded. And together with the astute announcements of [...]
Plan A has worked but it hasn’t avoided disaster December 5, 2013 ACCOMPANYING the Autumn Statement, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) upgraded expected growth for 2013 to 1.4 per cent and for 2014 to 2.4 per cent, while the deficit in 2013-14 has returned to falling for the first time since 2010-11. George Osborne says this showed Plan A worked. Is he right? Yes and no. [...]
Letters to the editor – 06/12 – Tax crackdown, Crossrail Two, Best of Twitter December 5, 2013 Tax crackdown [Re: Autumn Statement: What to watch out for, yesterday] There has been so much talk of tax avoidance that a fear factor has developed, with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) playing the role of chief scaremongerer. We have reached an extremely worrying point where people would prefer to pay too much tax rather than [...]
