Rio Tinto takes over reins at Riversdale April 8, 2011 Global miner Rio Tinto has acquired majority control of Riversdale Mining after more than 50 per cent of the target’s shareholders accepted its $4bn takeover offer. Rio said in a statement it planned to accelerate development projects at Riversdale.
Toyota to reopen Japanese factories April 8, 2011 Toyota has said it will resume production at all of its Japanese factories between 18 and 27 April. But the world’s biggest car manufacturer said that production at its domestic factories will resume at a reduced capacity. Production at all of Toyota’s 18 factories was suspended in the after of the earthquake and tsunami that [...]
Singapore Exchange drops ASX bid April 8, 2011 Singapore Exchange terminated its $8bn (£4.9bn) bid for Australia’s ASX after the Australian government formally rejected the offer, saying changes to the country’s financial systems were needed before foreigners could buy the bourse. It was the first time the Australian government has rejected a major foreign takeover on national interest grounds since 2001 when Royal [...]
Vedanta in production boost April 8, 2011 Indian-focussed miner Vedanta saw record aluminium production in its fourth quarter and a 29 per cent jump in refined zinc from its Indian operations, helping it take advantage of rising metal prices. Output of refined zinc, the group’s most profitable product, was 194,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter ended March 2011 from its Indian mines, [...]
ECB hikes rate to 1.25 per cent April 7, 2011 The European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates as expected from one per cent to 1.25 per cent. The 25-basis-point rise was largely anticipated by traders since the President of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet, and some of his fellow Bank members said it was time to get tough on inflation last month. It represented the [...]
Bank of England keeps rate at record low April 7, 2011 The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has kept UK interest rates once more at a record low of 0.5 per cent. There rate has been frozen for 25 months, even though inflation is more than twice the Bank’s two per cent target rate. Last month, three MPC members again voted for a rise. Fionnuala [...]
Carpetright issues another profit alert April 7, 2011 Carpetright, Britain’s biggest floor covering retailer, warned on profits for the second time in as many months, as shoppers hold back on expensive purchases amid rising bills and government cuts. The group, which trades from around 700 stores in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium, said profit before tax and one-off items for the year [...]
Hays fees up in overseas boost April 7, 2011 British recruitment group Hays posted a 16 per cent jump in net fees, led by its strong international business and said its outlook remained positive in nearly all its markets outside of the UK public sector. Hays, which specialises in placing office workers such as accountants and secretaries, said on Thursday it had seen excellent [...]
18 British banks face debt rating blow April 7, 2011 Up to 18 British banks could see their senior debt ratings cut several notches by Moody’s over coming months as the rating agency assesses how they would fare without implicit government support. The banks more immediately vulnerable to a downgrade are smaller institutions, including many building societies, rather than larger banks still heavily supported by [...]
Halfords cuts profit guidance April 7, 2011 Halfords reduced its profit guidance for the second time in three months as underlying sales continued to fall in tough markets. The bicycles and car parts firm also announced a share buyback programme of up to £75m. Halfords forecast a year to April 1 pretax profit of between £124m and £127m, with group sales of [...]
