Saudi Arabia shows it will not quell oil prices, by cutting output April 17, 2011 SAUDI Arabia’s oil minister said yesterday the kingdom had slashed output by 800,000 barrels per day in March due to oversupply, sending the strongest signal yet that OPEC will not act to quell soaring prices. Consumers have urged the exporters’ group to pump more crude to put a cap on oil, which surged to more [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 17, 2011 Halifax Share Dealing The execution-only broker has confirmed Damian Stansfield as its new managing director. Stansfield moves from Lloyds Banking Group, where he held the position of risk director for direct channels and group marketing. In his new role, Stansfield will be responsible for the day-to-day management of Halifax Share Dealing and strategic development of [...]
Shearings for sale for £40m April 17, 2011 The coach holiday company Shearings has been put up for sale by 3i for an estimated £40m, according to reports yesterday. 3i, the London-listed private equity company which bought the firm from Bridgepoint Capital, last year appointed advisers from Deloitte to find a buyer for the company. But after a deal with a trade buyer [...]
Samsung may be mulling sale April 17, 2011 Samsung Electronics Co may be looking to sell its hard-disk-drive business for $1.5bn (£919m), according to weekend reports. It is understood the company would use the proceeds of the sale to invest in higher growth areas. Samsung could not be reached for comment.
New job for El-Mokadem April 17, 2011 IAN El-Mokadem, the former head of catering services firm Compass in the UK, starts as new chief executive of materials testing firm Exova today. El-Mokadem’s four-year turnaround of Compass, as well as stints at Centrica companies British Gas and OneTel, have earned him a reputation for successfully growing and overhauling service sector UK firms. At [...]
Global merger deals hit highest value since 2007 April 17, 2011 THE COMBINED value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals announced so far this year has hit the highest level since 2007, according to data provider Dealogic. M&A volume has hit $934.3bn (£572.9bn) so far this year, driven by a string of lucrative deals including Glencore’s approach for Kazakhstan mining firm Kazzinc for $3.2bn. The Swiss-based [...]
Fiat to buy bigger Chrysler stake April 17, 2011 Italy’s Fiat expects to pay around $1.5bn (£919m) for an additional 16 per cent stake in Chrysler, which it hopes to buy later this year after the US automaker repays government loans, three people familiar with the matter said. Italy’s biggest industrial group is also working to raise about €1.5bn (£1.3bn) through a credit facility [...]
RBS to sell German and US debt April 17, 2011 Royal Bank of Scotland is set to sell large portfolios of real estate debt in Germany and the US, according to reports yesterday. The sale is part of its drive to dispose of non-core businesses. RBS has already sold £1bn of real estate loans in Spain in the last year and close to £1bn of [...]
Laxey pins its hopes on key investor vote April 17, 2011 ACTIVIST shareholder group Laxey Partners has played down the significance of a preliminary meeting with Alliance Trust ahead of the groups’s shareholders’ meeting, to be held on 20 May. Colin Kingsnorth, Laxey’s co-founder, told City A.M. last night: “It will only be a formal meeting to discuss the results they posted last week. Change can [...]
RIM could make rival Nortel bid April 17, 2011 PHONEMAKER Research In Motion may attempt to top Google’s $900m (£550m) bid for Nortel Networks’ wireless technology patents, according to people familiar with the plans. Nortel, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009, was a pioneer in wired and wireless network technology and the assets include some 6,000 patents and patent applications for wireless, [...]
