Geithner wary about US housing April 4, 2012 The United States is far behind on reforming the country’s housing finance system, where the government’s mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provide funding for the bulk of US home loans, Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday. “The biggest source of unfinished business in the financial reform effort is in the housing finance area,” [...]
Talos Energy attracts investors April 4, 2012 Private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Riverstone Holdings said yesterday they will back a new company that will invest in oil and gas opportunities in the US Gulf Coast and Gulf of Mexico regions. The private equity firms said in a statement that they will invest up to $600m (£378m) in Talos Energy, backing [...]
BHP faces fresh strike action at Oz coal mines April 4, 2012 AUSTRALIAN coal mines owned by BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi face a second seven-day strike after a third of the mines’ workforce rejected a BHP labour deal, union officials said yesterday. The mines, operated under the BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance joint venture, have a combined output capacity of more than 58m tonnes a year, representing about a [...]
Daimler sales rising as luxury car market drives forward April 4, 2012 GERMAN car maker Daimler is targeting earnings before interest and tax from ongoing business at last year’s level of £7.5bn as vehicle sales and revenue keep rising. Sales at Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz luxury division rose 11 per cent in March to 131,334 vehicles, extending first-quarter deliveries by 12 per cent to a record 313,902. “Daimler is [...]
Cove advances in Mozambique April 4, 2012 Oil explorer Cove Energy yesterday announced a successful conclusion to drilling offshore Mozambique with further success at Barquentine-4. The well is located approximately 30 km north of the Lagosta discovery well. This was the ninth successful well in Area 1 Rovuma offshore project. Chief executive John Craven said: “The appraisal drilling programme has concluded with [...]
Falkland Holdings in profit jump April 4, 2012 Falkland Islands Holdings, the Aim-listed international group that owns essential services businesses on the islands, yesterday said pre-tax profits before amortisation and non trading items were £3m for the year to 31 March 2012. Its profit was £2.3m in the previous year. The company’s board said that the total dividend payment will be not less [...]
Lonrho revenues on the climb April 4, 2012 Lonrho, which specialises in African investments, saw growth across all of its divisions in the final three months of 2011. Revenue in the final quarter of 2012 jumped 67 per cent to £46.1m from £27.5m a year earlier. Meanwhile like-for-like sales grew 30.2 per cent. The Infrastructure division saw sales grow 30.2 per cent, and [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 4, 2012 Universal Music The music company has promoted Laurence Hulin to vice president, emerging markets, effective immediately. Hulin will report to Olivier Robert-Murphy, global head of new business in the Universal Music Group. Hulin joined Universal Music in 2005, and for the past two years has served as vice president, business development. He has more than [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 4, 2012 FIRST GROUP JP Morgan has maintained its “neutral” rating on the transport group but cut its target price from 364p to 262p, blaming significantly lower guidance for 2013 bus margins in the group’s pre-close trading statement. However, the broker sees the problems in the bus division as “fixable”. RESOLUTION UBS has downgraded the insurance group [...]
FTSE plunges on euro fears April 4, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue-chip index fell to a two-month low yesterday, dragged down by commodity stocks after reduced prospects for fresh US stimulus and deepening concerns over the Eurozone’s debt and growth outlook weighed on risk appetite. The FTSE 100 index closed at 5,703.77, down 134.57 points, or 2.3 per cent – its steepest fall since mid-December. [...]
