Saudi to plug oil supply gap February 24, 2011 TOP world oil exporter Saudi Arabia yesterday moved to calm fears of an oil-supply crisis, saying that it was in talks with European companies affected by the disruption in Libyan supply and is willing and able to plug any gaps in supply. Oil industry sources said Saudi officials have been in touch with Spanish and [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE RECENT RISE IN PETROL PRICES? February 24, 2011 Save or Borrow peer to peer at RateSetter.com www.RateSetter.com Customer Phoneline: 08442490115 GERARD HEFFERNAN | BLACKMORE BORLEY “It’s worrying because oil will always shake up businesses and personal finances alike. We need to pay for our petrol regardless of the price so this will have a big impact.” IAN HUFFAM | NEXANS “I am because [...]
Davies issues warning over female quotas February 24, 2011 LORD DAVIES of Abersoch’s report on getting more women into the boardroom stopped short of imposing immediate quotas yesterday, but some firms warned that demanding equality from the top will not improve businesses. Lord Davies’ study, commissioned by business secretary Vince Cable last August, called for FTSE 100 companies to “challenge themselves” to increase the [...]
Apple announces new MacBook Pro and OS February 24, 2011 Apple yesterday announced it will unveil a new range of MacBook Pros which the firm says will be twice as powerful as the previous generation. It packs next generation processors and graphics and will also feature the firm’s new Thunderbolt technology, a port that allows transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps. It has a glass [...]
LSE takes on rivals with new platform February 24, 2011 THE LONDON Stock Exchange (LSE) is to launch a new pan-European derivatives trading platform in a bid to crack the dominance of rivals NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse. The European futures market has traditionally been dominated by the New York and Frankfurt-based exchanges, which announced plans to merge earlier this month. Yet the LSE yesterday [...]
Meet Mr Emerging Markets February 24, 2011 ANTOINE Van Agtmael coined the term “emerging markets” in the early 1980s at a time when placing assets in the so-called “third world” was considered an unusual and risky business. He founded Emerging Markets Management in 1987 to pioneer investment into a broad group of up-and-coming nations. Before founding the firm, Vat Agtmael was deputy [...]
Ashmore buys stake in US firm February 24, 2011 EMERGING markets fund manager Ashmore Group has increased its assets under management (AUM) by 12 per cent to $46.7bn (£28.9bn). The firm saw net inflows of $5.2bn in the six months to 31 December Net revenue for the asset manager jumped 17 per cent to £173.7m, while profits before tax increased 14 per cent to [...]
Seymour Pierce merger shaky as Gerova delists February 24, 2011 PROPOSED Seymour Pierce buyer Gerova Financial Group has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange due to concerns over its financial disclosure. Bermuda-based Gerova’s shares were suspended by the NYSE on Tuesday amid allegations it failed to report its financial dealings accurately to investors and its shares have been subject to insider trading. Its [...]
Extreme weather losses push Royal Sun Alliance profits down 14 per cent February 24, 2011 BURST pipes put a dampener on insurer Royal Sun Alliance’s full-year results yesterday, though profits were better than analysts expected. Damage to homes from extreme winter weather caused RSA’s pre-tax profit to fall 14 per cent to £474m, from £554m in 2009, despite raising premium income 11 per cent to £7.5bn from £6.7bn. Chief executive [...]
Record revenue at Allianz despite catastrophe costs February 24, 2011 INSURANCE giant Allianz posted a 22.4 per cent jump in net income for the year yesterday, although analysts grumbled that the 9.8 per cent dividend hike was not enough. Revenues rose 9.3 per cent to an all-time high of €106.5bn (£91.1bn) with strong sales in the UK and South America outweighing a drag from the [...]
