Victoria Oil & Gas appoints new chief executive from Indus Gas February 25, 2013 EXPLORER Victoria Oil & Gas is to announce John Scott as its new chief executive this morning, according to a source close to the company. Scott was previously finance director of Indus Gas, an exploration and development company with assets in India. The incoming chief executive, who is appointed with immediate effect, has operational experience [...]
Petra narrows half-year loss February 25, 2013 MINING group Petra Diamonds yesterday said it has narrowed its half-year net losses after tax to $15.2m (£10.1m), as rising revenues were offset by a $17.8m charge linked to its ongoing sale of Fissure Mines in South Africa. Revenue increased by 63 per cent to $151.7m for the six months to the end of December [...]
Genus posts drop in profit February 25, 2013 GENETICS company Genus yesterday posted a fall in pre-tax profit, as it expanded its footprint into the Chinese pig market. Pre-tax profit fell to £23.1m over the six months to December, down one per cent from the same period in 2011, as it was hit by higher feed costs and increased spending on research and [...]
Walkie-Talkie tower bags fifth tenant February 25, 2013 CANARY WHARF Group and Land Securities’ Walkie-Talkie skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street is now 53 per cent let after the developers confirmed yesterday that US insurer Liberty Mutual is to take up 117,336 square feet of office space. Markel, Kiln, RSA and Ascott Underwriting have also pre-let space in the 160-metre tall building.
City Moves for 26 February 2013 | Who’s switching jobs February 25, 2013 Co-operative Group The mutual business has announced the appointment of Rebecca Skitt as human resources director. Skitt has over 20 years’ experience, most recently as head of human resources in Barclays’ global retail and business banking division. She has also held senior roles at Unilever. Jones Day Karim Mahmud has joined the law firm as [...]
O2 finance boss left in the dark over 4G auction February 25, 2013 THERE were billions of pounds at stake as O2 went up against Vodafone and EE in the recent auction of the 4G mobile spectrum. Therefore one would expect that O2’s chief financial officer would be keeping a keen eye on the purse strings during the proceedings. However, as the company’s management spent a tense January [...]
Top spin doctors’ PR firm hit by defections over owner strategy February 25, 2013 SIGNS of exodus yesterday at M Communications, the top flight financial public relations agency founded by City veterans Nick Miles and Hugh Morrison. According to insiders, five senior people handed in their resignations, unhappy about the way the agency’s profits are being distributed. Insiders told The Capitalist last night that M, with annual revenues of [...]
Best of the Brokers February 25, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BREWIN DOLPHIN Canaccord Genuity has raised its rating on the asset manager to “buy” and boosted its target price to 230p. The broker thinks Brewin delivers a high cash return on invested capital and maintains a good momentum, and sees earnings and the [...]
UK share boost is tempered by Italian election February 25, 2013 LONDON REPORT UK shares shed all of their early gains yesterday as projected Italian election results suggested a clear-cut winner was unlikely to emerge, diminishing the prospects for a stable government. Early exit polls suggesting a healthy lead for a centre-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani in both houses of parliament were confounded by [...]
US stocks drop on fears over European debt February 25, 2013 NEW YORK REPORT US stocks yesterday suffered their biggest drop since November after a strong showing in Italian elections by groups opposed to the country’s economic reforms triggered worry Europe’s debt problems could again destabilise the global economy. The decline marks the biggest percentage drop for the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 7 [...]
