Gem discovers blue diamond September 30, 2013 GEM DIAMONDS yesterday said it has recovered a rare 12.46 carat blue diamond and an 83.8 carat white diamond from its Letmine in Lesotho, Africa. The London-listed firm said both diamonds are expected to fetch good prices at tenders held in Antwerp, Belgium. RBC Capital Markets has predicted that the miner could earn $6m (£3.7m) [...]
A Woolf in Lord Mayor’s clothing September 30, 2013 CITY lawyer Fiona Woolf was yesterday appointed as the next Lord Mayor of London, marking only the second time a woman has been elected to the post in its 800-year history. Woolf, an energy partner at CMS Cameron McKenna and sheriff of the City from 2010-11, will take up her role at a traditional silent ceremony [...]
Schwarzman gets BlackRocked September 30, 2013 BLACKSTONE boss Steve Schwarzman, one of Wall Street’s most rambunctious characters, is not known for regrets. This is, of course, the tycoon who got rocker Rod Stewart to perform at his 60th birthday party. But maybe he’s getting reflective in his old age. Yesterday he said his decision to carve out money manager BlackRock from [...]
Aldi’s extra 1m customers help double profits September 30, 2013 DISCOUNT supermarket chain Aldi said yesterday it more than doubled its profits in the UK last year, as it lured more than a million shoppers from more upmarket rivals and grabbed a bigger share of the market. The German group, which will open its 500th UK store next month, posted a pre-tax profit of £157.9m [...]
Newbury results improved by enhanced race deal with Turf TV September 30, 2013 NEWBURY Racecourse reported profit yesterday of £800,000 in the six months to 30 June, up from the £1.5m loss it reported in the same period of 2012. The company said much of the profit came from income generated from an enhanced media contract with Turf TV over broadcast rights for Newbury’s races. “The new media [...]
Windows passes BlackBerry in European phone market share September 30, 2013 WINDOWS Phone has overtaken BlackBerry to become the third most popular smartphone platform across Europe’s five largest markets, including the UK, data from Kantar Worldpanel showed yesterday. In the UK Windows Phone captured 12 per cent of smartphone market share in the three months ending August 2013, up from 4.5 per cent in the same [...]
Twitter plans to unveil IPO September 30, 2013 SOCIAL network Twitter plans to make its initial public offering (IPO) filing public this week, according to news website Quartz. Twitter revealed it had filed with US regulators on 12 September, but its filing currently remains confidential as allowed by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act for US companies with less than $1bn revenue. [...]
Tesco puts its US chain into bankruptcy September 30, 2013 TESCO put its US grocery store chain into bankruptcy yesterday as part of a plan to sell most of the 167 stores to a private equity firm led by billionaire Ron Burkle. Under the proposed sale, an affiliate of Tesco will lend Burkle’s private equity firm Yucaipa $120m to help fund the takeover of the [...]
Pawnbroker set for £35m stock rescue package September 30, 2013 TRADERS turned on high street pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond (A&B) yesterday after it laid plans for an emergency £35m cash bailout to salvage the troubled business. The Bristol-based outfit, the UK’s second biggest pawnbroker behind H&T, lost nearly half its value after shares fell over 40 per cent, slashing the value of the 30-year old [...]
GlaxoSmithKline sells thrombosis drug brands to Aspen for £700m September 30, 2013 BRITAIN’S biggest drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has agreed the £700m sale of its thrombosis drug brands and a related factory to Aspen Pharmacare, as part of its strategy to focus on growth products. The company said yesterday the divestment to South Africa’s biggest generic drug maker would earn it proceeds of £600m and £100m of the headline [...]
