Michael Spencer raises a glass to wine investment December 6, 2011 ICAP chief executive Michael Spencer took his self-confessed “irrational passion” for wine way beyond the odd bottle of his much-loved Petrus yesterday, becoming a shareholder in and chairman of fine wine merchant the Bordeaux Index. Spencer has made a seven-figure investment in the online trading exchange, which was set up 15 years ago by former [...]
New Stelios plan crosses the Rubicon December 6, 2011 EASYJET founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou (pictured below) yesterday unveiled his plans to rival the budget airline he set up in 1995. Stelios hopes to set up an Africa-focused carrier through Rubicon, an unprofitable software company that just over two weeks ago altered its investment strategy to focus on aviation. Rubicon, using the Fastjet name that Stelios [...]
Kraft names new executives December 6, 2011 KRAFT Foods has named its current chief executive, Irene Rosenfeld, to lead its snacks business and Anthony Vernon to lead its North American grocery business, when the giant packaged food company splits in two. Vernon is currently president of Kraft Foods North America. The maker of Cadbury chocolate and Oscar Mayer lunch meat said it [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHY IS TUI PERFORMING SO STRONGLY AGAINST RIVALS? December 6, 2011 DOUGLAS MCNEILL | CHARLES STANLEY The fourth full year since the merger of Tui and First Choice has been a good one, with earnings hitting a post-merger high, Demand in the year now under way looks lacklustre, but that’s expected and our 2012 forecasts look safe enough at this stage. We retain our positive view [...]
TUI profits rise despite uncertainty December 6, 2011 TUI TRAVEL has delivered another blow to its struggling rival Thomas Cook, delivering profits and a dividend rise despite the tough market. The company, which has the Thomson and First Choice brands, reported pre-tax profits of £144m in the year to 30 September. Chief executive Peter Long said the company’s expertise was “second to none” [...]
ALL BETS ARE OFF FOR DEL BONO’S CASINO PLOT December 6, 2011 IT WAS like the Marie Celeste when Luca Del Bono first looked round 50 St James’s: the tables in the restaurant were still laid for dinner and the staff uniforms were still hanging on their hooks in the hall. That’s what happens when you abandon ship so abruptly – as the site’s previous owner, the [...]
Centrica eyes Qatar with new contract December 6, 2011 CENTRICA has signed a memorandum of understanding to look at joint investment opportunities with Qatar Petroleum, two weeks after announcing a £1bn exploration and supply deal with Norwegian group Statoil. The British Gas owner said investment targets will include new or existing projects in upstream oil and gas including gas storage, as well as combined-cycle [...]
QATAR DEALS IN THE SPOTLIGHT December 6, 2011 ● 4 DECEMBER Qatar signed a deal with Royal Dutch Shell to develop a $6.4bn (£4.1bn) petrochemicals complex in the Ras Laffan industrial city in the Gulf Arab state. ● 13 NOVEMBER Qatar in negotiations to take a stake in an Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project under development by Russian gas producer Novatek ● 30 [...]
Glencore chief to keep stock December 6, 2011 GLENCORE boss Ivan Glasenberg said yesterday that he would not sell any of his shares in the company as long as he worked there. “None of us has sold a single share. Neither before nor after the flotation. And I’ve often said that I’m not thinking about selling any shares as long as I work [...]
UK oil industry suffering from a lack of investment December 6, 2011 The UK oil industry is at risk of under investment in the next twenty years, according to 78 per cent of respondents to a survey of senior executives in the energy sector by Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets. And four-fifths of respondents to the survey thought the industry was not producing engineers in sufficient numbers to [...]
