Serco profit up on overseas performance August 24, 2011 British outsourcing group Serco posted a 12 percent rise in first-half profit, boosted by a strong performance in its overseas business, and said it expected growth to continue despite continued UK and U.S. austerity headwinds. Serco, which among other things runs London’s cycle hire scheme and the Dubai metro, on Wednesday said adjusted pretax profit [...]
Tullow sees profits surge as Uganda deal comes to close August 24, 2011 British oil firm Tullow Oil said it expected to conclude a long-awaited deal in Uganda in September as it posted soaring first half profits and doubled its dividend. Tullow has been waiting since last year to finalise a deal to bring in new partners French oil major Total and Chinese group CNOOC to start a [...]
BHP posts record profit and raises dividend August 24, 2011 BHP Billiton reported a record second-half profit driven largely by iron ore, but just missed market forecasts and sounded a warning over costs and longer-term demand. The global miner also sought to appease investors with a big hike in its dividend. BHP, the last of the major miners to report results, was confident on the [...]
Gaddafi pledges “death or victory” as HQ falls August 24, 2011 Muammar Gaddafi has made a speech vowing death or victory in the fight against “aggression”, after Libyan rebels seized his Tripoli compound. In the audio speech, the colonel, whose whereabouts remain unknown, said he had made a “tactical” retreat from his Bab al-Aziziya compound in the capital. He pledged “martyrdom or victory” and claimed he [...]
WPP first half in line with forecasts August 24, 2011 WPP, the world’s largest advertising group, said it would plan for 2012 on a conservative basis, although strength in emerging markets has so far helped it to post seven-month growth broadly in line with its annual forecast. The firm, led by Martin Sorrell, said its like-for-like sales were up 6.1 per cent in the first [...]
Rebels lay siege to Gaddafi compound as Nato jets strike August 23, 2011 Libyan rebels battled on around Muammar Gaddafi’s headquarters, where a son of the veteran leader had emerged overnight to confound reports of his capture and to rally cheering loyalists for a rearguard fightback. NATO jets flew in support of the rebels, who said they were trying to break into Gaddafi’s fortified Bab al-Aziziya compound. His [...]
US home sales and Atlantic factory data disappoint August 23, 2011 Disappointing new economic data from the US has raised further fears over its ability to recover from recession. Manufacturing output in the central Atlantic region of the US fell again in August as orders and shipment growth slowed, figures from the regional Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond showed. The Richmond Fed’s composite index of factory [...]
Eurozone manufacturing in contraction August 23, 2011 Manufacturing activity in the Eurozone shrank in August for the first time in two years, a survey has indicated. The Markit Manufacturing PMI measure for the Eurozone fell to 49.7 from 50.4 in July. A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector. Manufacturing has driven a large part of the economic recovery in the [...]
Gaddafi son vows fightback against rebels in Tripoli showdown August 23, 2011 One of Col Muammar Gaddafi’s sons, Saif al-Islam, has appeared in Tripoli and claimed the government had “broken the backbone” of the rebel offensive there. He turned up in a government vehicle at a hotel held by loyalists, a day after the rebels said they had detained him. A BBC correspondent said Saif al-Islam, who [...]
Foster’s unveils £316m payout as it fights SABMiller bid August 23, 2011 Australian brewer Foster’s Group sought to put pressure on SABMiller to up its $10 billion (£6bn) hostile takeover offer, unveiling on Tuesday a A$500 million (£316m) capital return even as profits slid. The country’s largest brewer proposed to return money to shareholders via a share buyback or capital reduction in an effort to get SABMiller [...]
