Total gas leak now triggers evacuation of Shell workers March 27, 2012 A growing gas cloud from a leak at a platform operated by Total off Scotland has forced Shell to remove some workers from two nearby rigs for safety reasons. The gas leak on a rig operated by the French firm began on Sunday and has formed a cloud dense enough to be seen by workers [...]
Barclays has “encouraging” start to year says Diamond March 27, 2012 Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond said the bank has had an “encouraging” start to the year, across key areas such as retail and investment banking. Commercial and investment banking had enjoyed a “pleasing” increase in volumes, continuing a strong January, Diamond told Reuters, repeating comments made to analysts and investors at a Morgan Stanley conference. [...]
RBS shares rise as Abu Dhabi mulls buying stake March 27, 2012 Talks between Abu Dhabi and the British government over a stake in state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland are at the level of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, a source close to the ruling family said. It is too early to say whether a deal will come through, the source told Reuters. But RBS was the [...]
Resolution profit rises as it prepares split March 27, 2012 Insurer Resolution reported better-than-expected 2011 profit, helped by a one-off boost from outsourcing, and said it was working on a plan to split itself into two to make itself more attractive to investors. Resolution, created in 2008 to buy underperforming life insurers and merge them into a more profitable whole, made an operating profit of [...]
Wolseley profit rises but Europe still drags March 27, 2012 Wolseley, the world’s biggest building supplies company, said recent growth had slowed on weaker trading in Europe, as it posted a 28 per cent rise in first-half profit. Wolseley, operator of the Plumb Centre and Ferguson chains in Britain and the United States, said pre-tax profit in the six months to end-Jan was £250m, with [...]
Rio Tinto to sell diamond business March 27, 2012 Rio Tinto, the world’s third-largest miner, effectively invited bids on Tuesday for its diamonds business, on its books at $1.2 billion (752 million pounds) , and joined rival BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) in backing away from a business that has lost its sparkle. The FTSE 100 company, which runs three mines in Australia, Canada and Africa, [...]
Fuel tanker drivers vote for strike March 26, 2012 Fuel tanker drivers have voted in favour of taking strike action raising the prospect of troops delivering fuel to petrol stations. The strike ballot over terms and conditions was held by the Unite union. The government is holding a meeting with fuel delivery companies and supermarkets to work out a strategy to deal with any [...]
Game plunges into administration March 26, 2012 Struggling video games retailer Game said on Monday it has entered administration, becoming the latest household name to fall by the wayside in the consumer downturn. The firm, which employs 10,000 staff in 1,270 stores in nine European countries and Australia, said it has appointed PwC as its administrator after failing to find a buyer [...]
FSA fines Coutts £8.7m March 26, 2012 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulator has fined Coutts – the exclusive private bank owned by Royal Bank of Scotland – £8.75m for failings in its anti-money laundering controls systems. In October 2010, the FSA visited Coutts – whose chief executive is Rory Tapner as part of its thematic review into banks’ management of high money-laundering [...]
Energy stocks lift FTSE March 26, 2012 Energy stocks gave the FTSE 100 index renewed impetus in early trading but gains were limited by weaker miners and banks. Fears over China’s growth are still casting a shadow over commodity stocks while banks are still struggling to maintain upward momentum. Aberdeen Asset Management was the top riser, up 2.4 per cent as the [...]
