BMW predicts 2012 growth January 3, 2012 BMW expects the global premium car market to grow more than twice as fast as overall auto sales this year, the carmaker’s finance chief has told a German newspaper. “Around the world, we see market growth of four per cent and more than eight per cent in the premium market,” Friedrich Eichiner told Sueddeutsche Zeitung [...]
Centrica completes acquisition of US energy firm Vectren Source for $39m January 3, 2012 CENTRICA’s US arm Direct Energy has completed a $39m (£25m) cash acquisition of natural gas retailer Vectren Source from Vectren Corporation, a move it said will boost its customer base in the US North East. Indiana-based Vectren Source has more than 146,000 residential and small commercial customer accounts, with the majority of customers located in [...]
Travis Perkins buys out Toolstation from founder January 3, 2012 THE FOUNDER of Somerset-based hardware store Toolstation netted a £24m windfall yesterday after Travis Perkins – owner of DIY chain Wickes – bought the company. Mark Goddard-Watts set up the business in 2003 after leaving rival Screwfix, which he also founded, following its takeover by B&Q owner Kingfisher. Yesterday he sold the remaining 70 per [...]
French nuclear plants told to invest in safety January 3, 2012 FRANCE must invest billions of euros to improve the safety systems of its nuclear facilities so they can withstand the kind of extreme shocks that triggered the worst nuclear accident in 25 years at Fukushima, the nuclear watchdog ASN said yesterday. French nuclear power operator EDF will need to install flood-proof diesel generators and bunkered [...]
JP Morgan faces Bear Stearns suit January 3, 2012 JP Morgan Chase has been sued for $95m by the trustee for securities marketed in 2005 by the former Bear Stearns Cos over alleged misrepresentations regarding the underlying mortgage loans. US Bank NA wants to force JP Morgan to buy back the mortgage loans because of alleged breaches of representations and warranties regarding the Bear [...]
Carillion wins M6 contract January 3, 2012 Carillion has won a £105m contract from the UK government to manage the M6 motorway in Birmingham. The building firm will transform the section between junctions five and eight into managed motorway. This would mean variable speed limits, which the company says will lead to improved safety and journey times. The contract begins at the [...]
Unions plea to save Petroplus jobs January 3, 2012 A pan-European group of unions has called on governments in the UK, France, Belgium and Switzerland to support employment at oil refineries threatened with closure after refiner Petroplus had its credit lines frozen. Last week Petroplus said it would begin shutdowns at its Antwerp, Petit Couronne and Cressier plants after its banks froze a $1bn [...]
Anglo shoots back in war with Codelco January 3, 2012 MINER Anglo American yesterday reaffirmed its refusal to sell any shares in its Chilean unit Anglo American Sur to state-owned copper miner Codelco. Anglo American received a letter from Codelco earlier this week seeking to exercise an option to take a 49 per cent stake in AA Sur. But Anglo claims Codelco is in breach [...]
Steady climb to the top for British Airways January 3, 2012 BRITISH Airways had a difficult time in 2010 with strikes, snow and the Icelandic ash cloud all causing flight delays and cancellations – and the first two of these impacted heavily on consumer perceptions on YouGov’s BrandIndex. The brand’s Index score (a composite of six key measures of perception: general impression, quality, value, corporate reputation, [...]
Talvivaara looks to the future as it hits its downgraded nickel output targets January 3, 2012 SHARES in Talvivaara Mining shot up more than 27 per cent yesterday after the Finnish nickel miner said it has met its downgraded production targets. The FTSE 250-listed firm’s stock was caught in a downward spiral last year as it repeatedly slashed its output targets in the wake of longer-than-expected maintenance stoppages. But the firm [...]
