Kalahari reveals £756m takeover talks with Chinese-owned uranium business March 7, 2011 KALAHARI Minerals yesterday revealed that it was in discussions with Chinese state-owned CGNPC Uranium Resources about a possible takeover, sending its shares to an all-time high. Namibia-focused Kalahari released a statement yesterday morning saying it was in early-stage talks, but brought out another statement after the markets closed with details of the suitor and the [...]
Vallar ties up Berau purchase March 7, 2011 Vallar, the mining investment vehicle launched by Nathaniel Rothschild, said yesterday that holders of $450m (£277m) in 12.5 per cent secured bonds from Berau Capital Resources should bring them forward to either be cashed by Berau or bought by Vallar. The requirement, made as part of the change of control of Berau to Vallar, is [...]
BG Group signs 20-year LNG deal March 7, 2011 BG Group said yesterday it had finalised a 20-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal with Tokyo Gas for 1.2m tonnes per annum beginning in 2015. BG will supply the fuel from its $15bn (£9.3bn) Queensland Curtis Island coal seam gas to LNG project in Australia, which is due online in 2014. Tokyo Gas will [...]
House prices bounce back in the capital March 7, 2011 LONDON is rebounding from the UK’s housing market slump, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed today. While house prices continued to fall throughout the rest of the country, prices actually rose in the capital in February, according to the latest RICS survey. A positive balance of 14 per cent of surveyors reported jumps [...]
Banks expect growth in jobs March 7, 2011 HIRING intentions in financial and business services are higher than in any other sector, recruitment group Manpower revealed today. The sector is leading the way out of recession, with positive intentions of +16 per cent for the second quarter of this year, according to Manpower’s latest survey. This was its strongest quarterly rate since the [...]
UK expansion to be slow in 2011, warn businesses March 7, 2011 SLUGGISH growth will weigh down the UK economy this year, although it should spring back more strongly than previously expected in 2012, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) predicts in a fresh forecast published today. The economy will expand by just 1.4 per cent this year, the BCC said, down from its previous forecast of [...]
Euro up as investor morale rises March 7, 2011 The euro hit a four-month high against the dollar yesterday, on the back of growing speculation that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates next month. “There is amongst central bankers a solid unity of purpose to continue to anchor solid inflation expectations,” ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet yesterday told an economic meeting in Basel, [...]
Fed officials clash over QE3 March 7, 2011 Disagreements between senior Federal Reserve officials over a controversial third phase of quantitative easing (QE2) were voiced yesterday. The Fed’s Dennis Lockhart said a third phase of monetary stimulus (QE3) could not be ruled out if oil prices knock the US recovery. Yet his Fed colleague Charles Evans said “the hurdle is pretty high” for [...]
Fixed mortgage rates increase March 7, 2011 The average rate of interest on a two-year fixed rate mortgage has increased to 4.59 per cent, its highest level in ten months, according to the Moneyfacts website. Yet tracker rates have dropped to 3.4 per cent, as lenders look to tempt mortgage holders onto deals that follow the central Bank rate of interest.
Upturn in US consumer credit March 7, 2011 American consumers have increased their debt levels for four straight months, the Federal Reserve revealed last night. Total debt rose $5bn (£3.1bn) in January to $2.412 trillion.
