Total to buy GDF Suez stake December 6, 2011 Total, operator of the Elgin/Franklin fields in the British sector of the North Sea, yesterday announced it was buying GDF Suez’s share in the two fields for €590m (£507m). This participation is held through a 22.5 per cent interest in the company Elgin Franklin Oil & Gas (EFOG). By giving Total control of the whole [...]
Northgate driving profits December 6, 2011 Van-hire group Northgate said it would focus on current assets rather than growth, after that approach enabled it to post a 19 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £32.3m yesterday.
Frontline plans restructuring December 6, 2011 Frontline, the largest independent global oil tanker operator, has unveiled a restructuring plan that should spare its investors a lot of pain and force Ship Finance International to take a big hit. Industry bellwether Frontline will split in two, with the listed entity relieved of much debt and handed new charter rates, in an attempt [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 6, 2011 Callatay & Wouters Callatay & Wouters, which provides IT solutions to retail, private and direct banks, has appointed Diederik Van Der Linden to the new position of sales and marketing director. Van Der Linden, who specialises in retail and private banking, joined the company in 2001 to lead the international business development team, before becoming [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 6, 2011 PETROFAC JP Morgan rates the oil and gas group as “overweight” with a target price of 1,479p after a meeting with management in which growth opportunities across the business were highlighted. The broker also sees an attractive bid pipeline, particularly in the integrated energy services and offshore engineering divisions, with a backlog of expansion in [...]
FTSE ends flat as S&P eyes Eurozone rating downgrades December 6, 2011 THE UK’s top share index ended flat yesterday, with banks and retailers falling and sentiment hurt as credit agency Standard & Poor’s warned of a possible downgrade to most Eurozone countries. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.76 points or 0.01 per cent at 5,568.72 following a see-saw session, having closed at [...]
US stock lift shows hope for debt plan December 6, 2011 US stocks rose yesterday as investors bet European leaders would take strong steps this week to end the region’s debt crisis, including bolstering its financial rescue fund. The latest source of optimism came from a Financial Times report that European leaders will discuss boosting the firepower of the Eurozone’s rescue fund at the summit. The [...]
With a glass and a half full of pride, Cadbury is looking to raise its game December 6, 2011 COUNTDOWN TO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES 233 DAYS TO GO One of the nation’s favourite brands has new owners but it is still the official treat provider for 2012 Q. What was your brand’s primary reason for being involved with the Games? A. I was brought in after the decision had been taken, but [...]
History reveals breaking up a currency union isn’t hard to do – but you must be fast December 6, 2011 WHAT happens when a country changes its currency, either by creating a new one to replace the existing one or when it leaves a monetary union? A good starting point is New Zealand’s switch from sterling to the NZ dollar at the end of the 1960s. That was a simple matter of redenomination and printing [...]
Why the CBI was wrong to attack EC audit reforms December 6, 2011 AUDITING is at a crossroads. The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, the Office of Fair Trading, the European Commission, the US audit regulator (PCAOB) and investors all have substantial concerns about the listed company audit model. John Cridland of the CBI outlined the case for resisting the EC’s new proposals in these pages last [...]
