ANALYST VIEWS | DOES SPIRIT’S TRADING UPDATE BODE WELL FOR ITS FULL YEAR RESULTS? June 12, 2012 JAMES DAWSON CHARLES STANLEY On balance, this update should be viewed as supportive rather than significant progress. We believe the strategy to focus on maximising value as entirely logical and still see further potential with this estate. DOUGLAS JACK NUMIS Trading is still on track and ahead of our consensus-in-line full year forecast. With the [...]
ING agrees to pay $619m fine for violating US state sanctions June 12, 2012 ING Bank has agreed to pay $619m (£398m) to settle US government allegations that it violated US sanctions against Cuba, Iran and other countries. It was the biggest ever fine against a bank for sanctions violations, officials said. US authorities said ING moved $1.6bn illegally through banks in the US from the early 1990s through [...]
Lafarge to cut costs and debt June 12, 2012 LAFARGE, the world’s biggest cement maker, yesterday unveiled plans to cut costs by €1.3bn (£1.04bn) over the next four years and bring its net debt pile below €10bn as early as possible next year. The group, whose debt totalled €12.4bn at the end of March, is targeting savings of at least €400m this year and [...]
BP returns to Gulf of Mexico June 12, 2012 OIL major BP has started pumping oil from a new project off the Gulf of Mexico coast, its first new development to come onstream since the Macondo disaster in 2010 caused the largest offshore spill in US history. BP said yesterday the Galapagos development started initial production earlier in June, with oil flowing to a [...]
BNP Paribas mulls Egypt exit June 12, 2012 BNP Paribas, France’s biggest listed bank, is planning a sale of its retail banking operations in Egypt as the lender seeks to shore up its capital base and exit non-core operations, two banking sources said yesterday. BNP, which has around 70 branches in the North African country, may raise as much as £260m if the [...]
Workspace cheers London boom June 12, 2012 Workspace Group, the London-based firm that provides office space to start ups, reported better-than-expected results as its focus on the capital paid off. Net asset value per share, a key industry measure, rose eight per cent to £3.08. Workspace’s trading profit rose 13 per cent to £16m.
Heathrow Express staff get bonus June 12, 2012 Heathrow Express staff have won a bonus of up to £700 each for working during the Olympics. Heathrow Express said workers would receive a bonus if there were “additional passenger volumes ad revenues occur on specific ‘peak’ days”. The Unite union said the news piled pressure on bus firms to offer a Games bonus.
Qantas defends against bids June 12, 2012 Qantas has tapped Macquarie Group to defend against a possible bid after it lost a third of its value last week following a profit warning, a source said yesterday. Shares in the firm rallied more than seven per cent following the news.
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 12, 2012 Bargate Murray Alfred Merckx has been appointed as a partner and head of the City law firm’s newly formed aviation department. He joins from Dubai-based JetEx Flight Support, where he was general counsel. Merckx has extensive experience in business aviation and has served as a partner at Sinclair Roche and Thomas Cooper. Ixaris The electronic [...]
BEST of the BROKERS June 12, 2012 GENEL UBS has started covering the energy firm with a “buy” rating and a 12-month price target of 850p. The broker is optimistic about the political situation in the Kurdish region of Iraq, where Genel operates, and is impressed by the firm’s assets in the region. UBS also expects the group to make some high-impact [...]
