CGNPC may relaunch bid for Kalahari May 11, 2011 STATE-OWNED China Guangdong Nuclear Power (CGNPC) is studying whether to come back in three months with a fresh bid for uranium miner Kalahari Minerals, after withdrawing an offer following opposition from UK regulators. “Our business department is studying it. We don’t have a result yet,” said a CGNPC spokesman. CGNPC had withdrawn its bid for [...]
E.ON sales hit by fall in customers May 11, 2011 WARMER weather and fewer customers in some German regions curbed first-quarter sales at E.ON’s gas unit compared with a year earlier, the utility said yesterday. As the German gas market leader, E.ON’s activities are a benchmark for the health of central European gas markets. Its Global Gas division sold 244.6bn kilowatt hours of gas in [...]
Wood Group gets boost from US shale May 11, 2011 BRITISH energy services firm John Wood Group has shrugged off delays to projects and the impact of a tax hike in the North Sea, and said it is on track to meet full-year expectations. Wood Group said yesterday that it saw good growth in the first four months of the year, boosted by strong demand [...]
Trading improves at Drax May 11, 2011 DRAX, the operator of the UK’s largest coal-fired power station, said trading conditions in commodity markets had improved this year, three months after it said rising coal prices could hurt the firm’s margins. Drax, whose coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire supplies about seven per cent of the UK’s electricity, however, warned that markets remained [...]
ITV slumps after gloomy ad forecast May 11, 2011 ITV slumped to its lowest price since January during trading yesterday after spooking investors with a gloomy outlook for the advertising market. The drop was despite robust figures from ITV’s first-quarter, which saw group revenues rise 11 per cent to £500m. ITV television advertising jumped 12 per cent, beating the overall market increase of 10 [...]
FirstGroup holds out for long-term train contract May 11, 2011 BRITISH transport operator FirstGroup has said it will not take up the option to extend its First Great Western franchise for three years beyond 2013 so it can bid for a longer-term deal. “We have made the commercial decision not to take up the option to extend the First Great Western franchise for a further [...]
UK housebuilders lifted by a rise in profits as market improves May 11, 2011 BRITISH housebuilders Barratt and Bovis Homes both said they expected to report a rise in profit after a pick-up in sales, although activity will remain limited by tight mortgage availability. Barratt Developments, Britain’s largest housebuilder by volume, said yesterday sales rates returned to normal levels from 1 January to 8 May, with private selling prices [...]
Bank holidays give boost to Gatwick load factor May 11, 2011 BANK holiday travel has helped boost Gatwick airport’s load factor to a record 79.7 per cent high, as passenger numbers jumped by more than 700,000 in April compared to the same period last year. Average load factors climbed 3.2 percentage points from last year, after April 2010 numbers were hit by disruption from the ash [...]
CITY VIEWS: WOULD YOU SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A PRIVACY LAW? May 11, 2011 GRAHAM WOODRUFF | AMERSHAM “No. I ignore it all anyway, but I don’t doubt that people are interested in the private lives of celebrities. There are limits and the press does cross them at times. Any change would have to look into the issues thoroughly. If the wronged person wants to talk then they should [...]
Wragge & Co on the rebound as income rises 16pc May 11, 2011 Law firm Wragge & Co has reported a 16 per cent rise in tunrover for the year ending 30 April, with income hitting £112m compared to last year’s £96.2m. The firm has not yet released details of its profits per equity partner, but says figures should match the increase in turnover. “In terms of economic [...]
