IGas Energy splashes out £110m on Petronas assets September 19, 2011 MALAYSIA’S national oil company Petronas said yesterday it will sell the oil production business of its UK subsidiary Star Energy Group to IGas Energy for £110m. This is part of its strategy to focus on growing its European asset returns through marketing and trading, Petronas said in a statement. In 2011, Star Energy is expected [...]
DS Smith sells another paper mill September 19, 2011 Office products manufacturer DS Smith announced yesterday that its paper business is selling one of its UK paper mills to Asia File Corporation Berhad for £4.6m. The mill, located in Devon, produces educational and filing papers and makes 34,000 tonnes of paper each year. Earlier this year DS Smith said it was closing its larger Hollins paper [...]
Capita Group buys Vertex arm September 19, 2011 The Capita Group said yesterday that it had agreed to buy Vertex Private Sector, a subsidiary of outsourcing provider Vertex Group. Capita will pay £40.5m for the business, which will affect more than 1,500 jobs in the UK and India. Vertex Private Sector is a contact centre-focused outsourcing business, which is particularly strong in the [...]
UK mobile broadband disappoints September 19, 2011 British consumers want more information and transparency from mobile broadband operators even though their overall satisfaction with providers has improved slightly from last year, a survey by Acision and YouGov showed yesterday. “Seventy per cent of those questioned stated that they would like to be notified in real-time about network congestion, while another 71 per [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 19, 2011 Britvic Simon Litherland has been appointed as managing director of Britvic Soft Drinks, and a member of the group executive committee, effective from 4 October. Litherland joins from Diageo, where he was MD of the GB business, responsible for brands including Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker. Litherland started at Diageo as finance director in European [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 19, 2011 ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS UBS upgrades the Primark owner to a “buy” and ups its target price on the stock by six per cent to 1200p, to reflect increased estimates. The broker makes no change to its full year guidance for 2011 of flattish earnings, but raises 2012 estimates by three per cent to put earning [...]
FTSE slumps as Greek default fears spark a flight from risk September 19, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading shares erased much of last week’s gain after concern Greece will baulk at the austerity cuts needed to secure fresh bailout cash, and instead nosedive into a disorderly default, prompted a flight from risk. Banks were among the worst-hit sectors yesterday as international lenders ratcheted up the pressure on Athens, saying it must [...]
Mooted deal gives late lift to stocks September 19, 2011 US stocks fell yesterday but staged a late comeback after fears of a looming Greek debt default diminished on news of a possible deal to advance new bailout funds to Greece. Stocks spent most of the session sharply lower after European leaders disappointed investors by failing to come up with any new solutions to the [...]
The entwined fortunes of Greece and EU banks September 19, 2011 AS European banking shares continue to take a knock, it is clear that the fortunes of many of Europe’s major banks are inextricably linked with the fortunes of the Eurozone. Should a Eurozone country default on its debt obligations, it is likely that it will take a number of banks down with it – namely [...]
RALLIES TURN TO DECLINES AHEAD OF FED September 19, 2011 GLOBAL equity markets rallied sharply last week. The initial catalyst came from rumours that China stood ready to purchase Italian debt. Then stocks shrugged off worries about the credit-worthiness of the largest French banks, after German Chancellor Merkel and French President Sarkozy insisted that Greece will remain a member of the Eurozone. Greek Prime Minister [...]
