SHOULD BORIS BE GIVEN POWER TO RUN THE COMMUTER TRAINS? April 30, 2012 NICK CUMMINS MIKI TRAVEL I don’t think the Mayor of London should be extended that kind of power. He’s already got plenty to sort out with Transport for London’s current services. Then again, he could be a good independent counterbalance to the current operating companies. NICHOLAS SCANLON SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION EUROPE Yes, he’s done [...]
Union aims fire at relaxation of opening hours for the Olympics April 30, 2012 A TRADE union has lashed out at government plans to liberalise Sunday trading laws during the Olympics, saying that shop staff would be forced into working longer and less sociable hours – an argument dismissed by retailers. The Usdaw union has said plans to allow wider Sunday trading for eight weeks, starting from 22 July, [...]
NYSE Euronext pays price for failed merger April 30, 2012 NYSE Euronext admitted yesterday that its profits fell by almost a third in the first quarter due to a slowdown in trading and costs from its failed merger with Deutsche Boerse. The New York exchange said profits were down 32 per cent to $121m (£74.6m) as revenue fell 17 per cent to $952m in the [...]
Taiwan slowly pulls out of short recession April 30, 2012 TAIWAN’S economy edged out of recession in the first quarter, but in a sign that Asia’s exporters are not quite out of the woods yet, the government cut its full-year forecast for a fourth time and flagged an increased inflation risk. After two quarters of contraction, the economy grew 0.26 per cent in the first [...]
South Korean exporters hit by the sluggish global economy April 30, 2012 INDUSTRIAL production slowed sharply in South Korea in March, official data showed yesterday, as the weak global economy hit the country’s exporters. Output growth slowed to just 0.3 per cent on the year to March, far below the 2.2 per cent forecast by economists. Production fell 0.3 per cent in the month to March, compared [...]
Cobham wins £24m contract to provide gadgets for US military April 30, 2012 BRITISH defence contractor Cobham said yesterday it had sealed a $39m (£24m) contract to supply antennae to the US military. The US Navy and Marine Corps will use the high tech communications equipment in their EA-6B and EA-18G aircraft. A total of 90 devices have been ordered under the contract. The deal win reflects the [...]
Hunting sells Canadian airport arm to management for £7.5m April 30, 2012 ENERGY services company Hunting yesterday reported that it had offloaded its Canadian airport business in a £7.5m deal. A consortium of investors has bought the unit, which also includes Field Aviation. The Amavco consortium is made up of managers already in the business and amounts to a management buyout. London-listed Hunting has agreed to defer [...]
Aquarius posts a loss as prices and output fall April 30, 2012 MINER Aquarius Platinum yesterday posted a net loss for the third quarter, hit by weaker prices and a drop in production on the back of poor ground conditions, continuing safety stoppages and worse than usual absenteeism after the Christmas holidays. The company, which has been hit along with the rest of the sector by a [...]
Gulf Keystone gains as Shaikan wells look set for oil production April 30, 2012 OIL explorer Gulf Keystone yesterday offered yet more data suggesting that its Shaikan wells in the Iraqi region of Kurdistan could deliver commercially viable amounts of oil. It said that its Shaikan-6 appraisal well had been drilled and that oil had been encountered at its deepest point to date. Meanwhile the Shaikan-5 site has also [...]
E.ON signs five year UK gas deal April 30, 2012 ■ Noble Clean Fuels has boosted its presence in Britain’s gas storage market by signing a five-year agreement with E.ON’s Gas Storage UK to lease the full capacity at its new Holford storage facility in Cheshire. From today, the Singapore-listed commodities firm can start using the site’s initial 60m cubic metres (mcm) storage capacity, which [...]
