UK to review North Sea drilling after Gulf spill January 12, 2011 The government has said it will review its regulations covering offshore oil and gas drilling in the North Sea following the publication of a US investigation into BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The review will start within a month and will report later this year, Energy Minister Charles Hendry said in a statement. “We [...]
Eurozone industrial production beats forecasts January 12, 2011 Eurozone industrial production grew at a faster pace in November than forecast, official data showed. Factory output rose 7.4 per cent year-on-year, following an upwardly revised 7.1 per cent growth in October, Eurostat said. A rise of 5.9 per cent had been forecast by analysts.
UK trade deficit hits record high January 12, 2011 Britain’s goods trade deficit with the rest of the world unexpectedly deteriorated in November to hit a record high, driven by imports of oil and aircraft, official data showed. The figures will raise concerns about the rebalancing of the economy towards exports in response to sterling’s relative weakness, as well as casting doubt on the [...]
BAA takes £24m hit from big freeze January 12, 2011 BAA expects to take a hit of around £24Mm from last month’s big freeze, which paralysed many of its airports and dented passenger numbers in the week before Christmas. Passenger traffic at BAA airports fell 10.9 per cent in December year-on-year after last month’s heavy snowfall wreaked havoc, especially at its biggest airport, London’s Heathrow, [...]
SuperGroup sales soar 90pc over Xmas January 12, 2011 SuperGroup, the company behind the Superdry fashion brand, forecast year profit at the upper end of expectations after posting a 90 per cent jump in sales over the key Christmas period. SuperGroup, whose clothes are a favourite of celebrities such as David Beckham, Leonardo DiCaprio and Zac Efron, said it made sales of £65.1m in [...]
Henderson in £335m deal for Gartmore January 12, 2011 Anglo Australian funds manager Henderson Group is to buy rival Gartmore in a £335m deal. Gartmore shareholders will receive two Henderson shares for every three Gartmore shares, under the proposal. Completion of the acquisition is expected to take place within the next three months, subject to a number of shareholder and regulatory approvals. “By bringing [...]
Sainsbury’s sales beat Christmas forecasts January 12, 2011 Strong sales of premium groceries and non-food ranges like clothing helped J Sainsbury to report a rise in Christmas sales which analysts expect will be the best among the top four grocers. Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group, which trails market leader Tesco and Wal-Mart’s Asda in terms of annual sales, said on Wednesday sales at stores [...]
RBS hit with £2.8m FSA fine over complaints January 11, 2011 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and its NatWest subsidiary have been fined £2.8m for poor handling of customer complaints. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) imposed the fine, finding there was an “unacceptably high risk” that the customers had been treated unfairly. Failings identified included poor and slow dealing with complaints. RBS accepted its performance [...]
Alcoa posts fourth quarter profit January 11, 2011 Alcoa, the largest US aluminium producer, reported a fourth-quarter profit and projected a 12 per cent rise in demand for the metal in 2011, driven by aerospace and auto manufacturing. Alcoa said income from continuing operations was $258m (£166m) compared with a loss of $266m in the same quarter of 2009. “Pretty much every one [...]
Simon abandons CSC takeover bid January 11, 2011 Simon Property has given up on its £2.9bn attempt to buy the largest British mall-owner Capital Shopping Centres, saying CSC did not provide the information it needed to proceed. “Despite numerous overtures from Simon and in full knowledge that Simon, given this due diligence precondition, is not able to announce a firm offer without it, [...]
