City hit by chemical leak October 25, 2010 THE City was hit by traffic chaos in the rush hour after a chemical spill at the New Change shopping mall on Cheapside. The London Fire Brigade in an alert said 30 people were evacuated as specialist teams combed the building to assess the cause of the spill. Land Securities, which owns the shopping centre [...]
Mortgage lending remains “subdued” October 25, 2010 The latest figures from UK’s major banks have said that budget uncertainties had contributed to a subdued mortgage market. The downward trend spiral continued in September, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said. The number of mortgages approved for house purchases fell slightly compared with the previous month to 31,104, as low demand for new loans [...]
Holiday Inn revamp boosts IHG October 25, 2010 InterContinental Hotel Group, the world’s top hotelier, said revenue per available room in the Americas region was boosted by the ongoing relaunch of its Holiday Inn hotels and the return of business travellers. InterContinental, whose brands include namesake hotels along with the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, said revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key [...]
BP sells interests in four Gulf of Mexico fields for $650m October 25, 2010 BP has announced that it has reached agreement to sell its recently-acquired interests in four oil and gas fields in the US Gulf of Mexico to Marubeni Oil and Gas for $650m (£413m). BP acquired the interests in the fields – Magnolia, Merganser, Nansen and Zia – from Devon Energy earlier in 2010 as part [...]
FTSE opens higher ahead of key data October 25, 2010 The FTSE 100 rose on opening this morning with heavyweight miners likely to be buoyed by a softer dollar after the Group of 20 major economies agreed to avoid competitive currency devaluations. The blue chip index looks set to gain 43 to 48 points, or as much as 0.8 percent, according to financial bookmakers, after [...]
British Land teams up with Canadians for City skyscraper October 25, 2010 British Land is teaming up with Canada’s Oxford Properties to develop the Leadenhall Building in the City, in the second of two crisis-hit skyscraper projects to be revived within a week. Britain’s second largest property company said it had agreed terms to build the 47-storey tall scheme in a 50:50 joint venture with the real [...]
Pearson raises full-year guidance October 25, 2010 Publishing group Pearson raised its full-year outlook again, saying it now expects adjusted earnings per share to be up around 10 per cent on last year despite the uncertain outlook. The educational technology provider and Financial Times owner said in July that full-year adjusted earnings per share should rise to around 70 pence, a seven [...]
Caterpillar buys engine firm from 3i group for £515m October 22, 2010 Caterpillar has agreed to buy MWM Holding, the German maker of gas and diesel engines, from British private equity firm 3i Group for about $810m (£515m) in cash. Caterpillar’s rich offer pre-empted a formal auction that was likely to have attracted a string of big strategic buyers, two people familiar with the matter said. The [...]
Ferrovial to sell off 10pc stake in BAA October 22, 2010 Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial it plans to sell a ten per cent stake in airports operator BAA in order to finance new investments and pay off debt. Ferrovial shares opened up four per cent and bucked a 0.35-per cent slump by the Madrid bourse. “The beginning of this process is within the policy framework of [...]
Betfair float values company at £1.4bn October 22, 2010 Betfair has priced its initial public offering at 1,300 pence per share – valuing the company at £1.4bn Betfair, the world’s largest bettingwebsite, said it had sold 16.2m shares in the offering, excluding an overallotment option, or 15.2 per cent of the company. It had offered the shares at 1,100-1,400 pence. The company has more [...]
