LV= profits halve due to tough price war in the UK car market September 9, 2013 INSURER LV= yesterday announced a hefty fall in its half-year operating profit, which it largely blamed on tough price competition in the UK motor insurance market. The mutual – which is Britain’s third biggest car insurer and covers more than 3m drivers – saw its operating profit fall to £31.3m from £60.1m for the first six [...]
City of London looks to put bad year behind it after sales drop September 9, 2013 CITY of London Investment Group yesterday posted falls in funds under management, revenues and profits for the full year as it struggled to cope with a difficult management transition. Funds managed by the company fell 16 per cent in sterling terms, delivering a £4.7m fall in revenues due to the smaller fee earning asset base. [...]
Davey clashes with PM on shale yet backs its green credentials September 9, 2013 ENERGY secretary Ed Davey yesterday rebutted Prime Minister David Cameron’s claim that shale gas would bring down energy bills in the UK, but backed the new technology as “a bridge in our transition to a green future”. In a speech to the Royal Society, the Lib Dem MP said that “it’s far from clear that [...]
Gulf Keystone suspends shares today ahead of court decision September 9, 2013 OIL AND gas explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum yesterday said it will suspend its shares on the Aim index today, ahead of a judge’s decision on the Excalibur court case which is expected this afternoon. The firm plans to release a statement later today giving details of the London court’s ruling. Rival firm Excalibur launched legal [...]
BG slides after slashing 2014 output forecast September 9, 2013 FTSE 100-listed BG Group’s shares plunged over five per cent yesterday, after project delays caused the oil and gas company to slash its production outlook for next year. The firm said that the combined impact of ongoing political and social instability in Egypt and delays in Norway would reduce production in 2014 by around 30,000 [...]
Glencore Xstrata strengthens its grip on Lonmin with board hires September 9, 2013 FTSE 250-listed platinum miner Lonmin yesterday said it has appointed two non-executive directors to join its board, who both come from its largest shareholder Glencore Xstrata. Gary Nagle, chief executive of newly-merged miner trader Glencore Xstrata’s alloys division and Paul Smith, head of strategy and communications at the FTSE 100-listed firm, will join Lonmin with immediate [...]
AMEC wins £200m Welsh contract September 9, 2013 FTSE 100-listed engineering firm AMEC yesterday said that it has been awarded a five-year £200m contract extension with its partner, utility service contractor Morrison Utility Services, to maintain gas distribution networks for Wales & West Utilities until 2018. “This successful alliance will remain focused on delivering WWU’s business objectives,” said Marc Boulter, MD of AMEC’s [...]
IGas to buy North Sea oil explorer September 9, 2013 IGas – one of the few firms with permission to explore the UK’s shale gas reserves – yesterday said it has entered into an agreement with British oil and gas explorer Caithness Petroleum, proposing to buy its UK subsidiary Caithness Oil for £8.95m. Under the proposed deal, IGas would gain licences in the North Sea. [...]
Petronas to exit Venezuela belt September 9, 2013 Malaysian oil company Petronas is exiting one of the biggest petroleum projects in Venezuela’s Orinoco belt after tensions with state-run PDVSA over contract terms, sources said. The flagship project, called Petrocarabobo, has planned investments of about $20bn (£12.73bn) over 25 years and calls for building a 200,000 barrel per day upgrader to convert heavy crude [...]
EE’s advantage grows with 1m 4G customers September 9, 2013 MOBILE operator Everything Everywhere (EE) yesterday announced that more than 1m customers are now on its 4G mobile network. The news came just after rival networks O2 and Vodafone launched their own 4G services last week. EE, which owns Orange and T-Mobile, originally set a target of reaching 1m 4G customers by the end of [...]
