Kenmare profits fall 85 per cent August 28, 2013 Miner Kenmare Resources’ shares tumbled over nine per cent yesterday after the firm revealed an 85 per cent fall in half-year operating profit and net losses of $10.2m (£6.6m), down from net profit of $38.8m last year. The FTSE 250-listed firm attributed the decline to lower average prices. “Management’s focus is now on controlling operating [...]
Meggitt buys US tech group August 28, 2013 Aerospace, defence and energy group Meggitt said yesterday it plans to acquire technology firm Piezotech for $41.2m (£26.5m) on a cash and debt-free basis. Meggitt plans to add the firm, which specialises in ultrasonic technology and has experience in downhole drilling, to its sensing systems division. The group will keep the existing management team at [...]
City Moves for 29 August 2013 | Who’s switching jobs August 28, 2013 Coutts The wealth division of RBS has appointed Donna Burns as managing director and head of human resources. She joins from The Renaissance Group, where she was most recently managing director and global head of human resources. Burns has also held roles at Goldman Sachs. Barclays Corporate & Employer Solutions The division of Barclays Bank [...]
Best of the brokers for 29 August 2013 August 28, 2013 BUNZL Numis keeps its “buy” rating and target price of 1,505p following interim figures at the support services group that were slightly ahead of expectations. The broker expects Bunzl to generate organic growth of between two and four per cent, or eight per cent including acquisitions. AFRICAN BARRICK GOLD Davy maintains its “outperform” rating on the [...]
London Report: Syria weighs on FTSE amid oil trade scramble August 28, 2013 THE UK’S top share index fell yesterday, pressured by the risks of possible Western military action against Syria, but with energy stocks supporting the market after an oil price spike. The FTSE 100 was down 10.91 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 6,430.06 points at the close as the United States and its allies appeared [...]
New York Report: Rise in energy shares drives Wall St higher August 28, 2013 WALL Street rose yesterday as energy shares rallied on higher oil prices as the United States and its allies edged closer to military action against Syria. Trading volume was thin and came after a drop in the S&P 500 index on Tuesday to its lowest in two months. Yesterday stocks recouped some of the losses [...]
We must accept our limited capacity to resolve conflict in tinderbox Syria August 28, 2013 ONE OF the enduring consequences of the war in Iraq, and to a lesser extent Afghanistan, is a deep scepticism towards military intervention abroad among the British people. In the case of the civil war in Syria, I share that scepticism. There are four questions that need to be asked and answered by policymakers [...]
Talking down the recovery won’t close the gap in SME lending perceptions August 28, 2013 IT’S AMAZING the difference just a few months can make. If we wind back to the spring, the news was dominated by economic doom, gloom, and concern about the UK entering an historic triple dip recession. Now the pendulum seems to have swung the other way, with survey after survey reporting increasing business confidence and [...]
The new Bank objective of supporting growth could prove ineffective August 28, 2013 THERE were many positive aspects to Mark Carney’s first speech as new Bank of England governor, held in Nottingham yesterday. It was broadcast over the internet. He took questions from the audience and then gave a press conference afterwards. All this was accessible to the public at large via the Bank’s website. This is a [...]
Letters to the editor – 29/08 – Jobless youth, HS2 failings, Best of Twitter August 28, 2013 Jobless youth [Re: Why far too many young people still struggle to find work after education, Friday] Lottie Dexter makes for good reading, but I disagree with her conclusions. Enforced apprenticeships will not save Britain’s young – they are the hallmark of a corporatist industrial policy. We live in an age of innovation: machines or even [...]
