BP achieves success with Gulf leak plug August 8, 2010 BP yesterday confirmed a pressure test on the cementing operation to plug its leaking Macondo well off the Louisiana coast had been successful. “[The test] following the cementing operations indicates we have an effective cement plug,” the company said. The news came as the US coast guard said clean-up efforts from the BP oil leak [...]
GDF Suez and International Power poised to announce merger plans August 8, 2010 FRENCH utility GDF Suez and British peer International Power could announce plans to merge as early as tomorrow. The two companies are both due to report first-half results tomorrow but the figures will likely be overshadowed by any update on the progress of tie-up talks. The two said last month they were working on a [...]
Rail cuts could harm recovery August 8, 2010 THE British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has warned business secretary Vince Cable that rash cuts to the rail network could harm the economic recovery. The strongly-worded letter, also sent to transport secretary Philip Hammond, said cuts to the transport network would strangle growth in the private sector and have a knock-on effect on the rest [...]
EY to launch cleantech arm August 8, 2010 Accountancy giant Ernst & Young is planning a hiring spree to create a new cleantech advisory group, mainly focused on raising capital for entrepreneurs looking to set up clean energy businesses. Over 300 people are expected to join the division, which will be headed by corporate finance partner Steve Lang in the UK. Around 100 [...]
Liverpool race hots up August 8, 2010 Liverpool Football Club will receive at least two bids by the end of the week, according to sources close to its chairman Martin Broughton. The sources said there are up to six plausible bids in the offing, with none currently leading the charge. Speculation has reached fever pitch after a string of foreign backers have [...]
Jimmy Choo may prep for sale August 8, 2010 Designer shoe-maker Jimmy Choo could soon change hands for as much as £500m. The firm’s shareholders are understood to be sounding out a potential deal after the luxury retailer’s value has continued its meteoric rise. A string of private equity firms have owned stakes in the firm, most selling back out within a few years, [...]
ZARA BACK IN THE BLACK August 8, 2010 HIGH-street retailer Zara UK has declared a pre-tax profit of £618,692 over the financial year to January, its first since the onset of the financial crisis in 2007. The figures compare to a £20m loss for the previous year. Spanish owner Inditex has warned the market is still volatile but plans to launch online sales [...]
iPhone faults force Apple exec to leave August 8, 2010 ONE of Apple’s top executives has left the company in the wake of antenna problems that marred the release of the iPhone 4. The firm refused to say whether Mark Papermaster, who was senior vice president of devices hardware, was ousted or whether he left of his own accord. However, he would have been responsible for [...]
Lehman art to raise £2m at auction August 8, 2010 ARTWORKS that once adorned the British and European offices of former banking powerhouse Lehman Brothers are to be auctioned off next month, according to the bank’s administrators. Works by the likes of Lucian Freud and Gary Hume and the sign that hung outside the bank’s office in Canary Wharf will be among the pieces up [...]
Cable: Lloyds not immune to break-up August 8, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group will not be protected from any plans to break up Britain’s banks – despite being told it would be rewarded for buying HBOS in its darkest hour, business secretary Vince Cable has warned. Eric Daniels, Lloyds’ boss, has claimed that government officials said Lloyds would be allowed to hold on to HBOS assets [...]
