US jobless claims steady as trade deficit narrows October 13, 2011 THE NUMBER of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits was steady last week, while the US trade deficit narrowed slightly in August. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 404,000, the Labor Department said yesterday, just below economists’ expectations. A separate report from the Commerce Department on the trade balance [...]
BP cleared for £4.5bn North Sea oil field October 13, 2011 BP AND its partners Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and Chevron won the government’s approval yesterday to push ahead with a £4.5bn investment to develop one of the largest North Sea oil fields. The oil major said the second-phase development of the giant Clair field, west of the Shetland Islands, takes to £10bn the new projects [...]
Rolls-Royce hits all-time high on US engine deal October 13, 2011 US PLANE engine maker Pratt & Whitney agreed a surprise $1.5bn (£952m) deal to buy Rolls-Royce’s share of the International Aero Engines (IAE) consortium, sending shares in Rolls-Royce to an all-time high. As well as the deal for IAE — which makes the V2500 engine for Airbus A320 jets — the pair also said they [...]
Ophir seals a £118m deal in east Africa October 13, 2011 NEWLY-LISTED oil and gas firm Ophir Energy has agreed to buy Dominion Petroleum in a £118m all-share deal that will expand its portfolio of projects in East Africa. Ophir, which raised $375m (£239m) when it debuted on the London Stock Exchange in July, said yesterday it would offer 0.0244 Ophir shares for each Dominion share, [...]
The music-loving Cooper adds an acquisition to a busy year October 13, 2011 FEW company directors have successfully braved the new issue markets in the past year and now one of them has also completed on a strategic acquisition. Nick Cooper left Salamander Energy earlier this year, a company he co-founded, to become managing director of Ophir ahead of the group’s London listing. Yesterday, as Ophir announced its [...]
WH Smith in earnings rise but sales fall October 13, 2011 WH Smith yesterday reported a 4.5 per cent rise in annual profits, with cost cutting helping to offset a fall in sales. The newspapers, books and stationery retailer made a pre-tax profit of £93m in the year to 31 August, compared with £89m a year earlier. But like-for-like sales at stores open more than a [...]
Ladbrokes boosted by machine bets October 13, 2011 LADBROKES reported an increase in third-quarter underlying operating profit yesterday as a sharp rise in winnings from gambling machines offset a decline in bets placed over the counter at its shops. The UK’s second-biggest bookmaker, which on Monday pulled out of talks to buy online rival Sportingbet, made an operating profit of £49.7m in the [...]
Carrefour issues its fourth 2011 profits warning October 13, 2011 FRENCH retailer Carrefour yesterday issued its fourth profit warning in as many months. The French group, battling to reverse years of underperformance in its main western European markets, said it expected 2011 operating profits to fall by up to 20 per cent, compared with about 15 per cent previously. Meanwhile the world’s second-biggest retailer said [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: CAN WH SMITH CONTINUE TO PROFIT AS ITS SALES FALL? October 13, 2011 MATTHEW MCEACHRAN | SINGER CAPITAL MARKETS The company’s defensive, low-ticket product offering is proving resilient and the fact that the strategy remains strongly focused on cost and margin management as a driver of the bottom line is also useful. KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LASNDOWN On the downside, accompanying management comments have again expressed caution. But [...]
Poundland reports record year October 13, 2011 Poundland, Europe’s biggest single price discount retailer, posted a record year of sales and profit as it continued to prosper in the economic downturn. The firm, which trades from over 360 UK stores, said yesterday underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 34 per cent to £31.7m in the year to 27 March. [...]
