Pennon signs energy from waste deal July 4, 2011 PENNON the French waste management firm, is to build a new energy from waste plant in the UK that will treat 60,000 tonnes of household rubbish. The company’s subsidiary, Viridon, which specialises in recycling, has signed a deal with Devon county council and will spend £45m building the plant on the site of the former [...]
Rare earth mineral discovery in Pacific a boon for electronics July 4, 2011 VAST deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said yesterday. “The deposits have a heavy concentration of rare earths. Just one square kilometre (0.4 square mile) of deposits will be able to provide one-fifth [...]
The Exeter incinerator plant July 4, 2011 Q.WHERE DOES THE WASTE COME FROM? A.The plant will collect residual household rubbish, which is left over after recycling has taken place in the Exeter and East Devon area. Q.HOW IS THE RUBBISH PROCESSED? A.The waste goes into a bunker where it is then fed into a combustion chamber. An oscillating kiln, heated at 850 [...]
Rank makes yet another U-turn on bid July 4, 2011 IN YET another twist at gaming firm Rank Group, Ian Burke has been reappointed as chief executive less than a week after he quit over a takeover scrap with bidder Guoco. The announcement coincided with a dizzying fourth U-turn in as many weeks on the firm’s advice to shareholders regarding Guoco’s bid for the company. [...]
PAI completes sale of KwikFit to Itochu Corp July 4, 2011 PAI Partners has completed its sale of Kwik Fit, the UK’s biggest tyre retailer, to Itochu Corporation, confirming the news reported by City A.M. in early March (see right) that the Japanese conglomerate had won the auction for the auto repair business. Itochu paid £637m, including acquiring net debt of £457m, for part of the [...]
City ready for role in elderly care funding July 4, 2011 CITY experts welcomed sweeping proposed changes to how care for the elderly is funded yesterday, as they would allow financial services firms to help people meet their costs. Economist Andrew Dilnot (pictured) called for the current system, which forces people with more than £23,250 in assets to fund their care in full, to be scrapped [...]
CITY VIEWS: WOULD YOU WELCOME HIGHER TAXES TO FUND ELDERLY CARE? July 4, 2011 JOHN WILD | WILLIS “No. When the new government came in I thought they should change the way tax money is used in the public sector. I thought that under Labour there was too much bureaucracy. They could take enough in tax to pay for these things if they changed the way it was distributed.” [...]
NO LUNCH FOR BLAIRS AT BANKING AIDE’S BASH July 4, 2011 SO MANY social engagements, so little time for Tony and Cherie Blair, who only had time for a quick drink at the fiftieth birthday for Russell Chambers – the man dubbed “Blair’s favourite banker” – before rushing off without sitting down to eat. Chambers, the Credit Suisse senior adviser who famously lent Blair a pair [...]
Insurers pass stress test July 4, 2011 MOST of Europe’s insurance companies are well capitalised against big shocks but a minority still need more capital, the latest industry stress tests results showed yesterday. Ninety per cent of insurers that reported results met the minimum capital requirements to withstand a shock such as a severe recession, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority [...]
Audit data slammed by investors July 4, 2011 INVESTORS frequently fail to read auditor and audit committee reports as they don’t see their findings as meaningful, a survey published by PwC today shows. Investment professionals challenged the timing of audit reports, arguing it was not effective to announce companies’ preliminary results before they were audited. They also argued that closed-door talks between auditors [...]
