Centrica set to name US head British Gas boss February 14, 2013 A NEW head of British Gas is set to be installed by parent company Centrica as soon as today, with the firm’s US executive Chris Weston widely tipped to be taking over, it emerged last night. Weston is currently head of Centrica’s US gas retail business Direct Energy. He is set to replace outgoing managing [...]
Rio Tinto vows to cut costs as it posts $3bn loss February 14, 2013 RIO TINTO chief executive Sam Walsh promised to cut costs and spend capital more carefully this year, as the miner slumped to a full-year loss of $3bn (£1.9bn). Walsh, who was appointed chief executive in January after former boss Tom Albanese resigned on a $14.4bn write-down on two failed acquisitions, said the company would have [...]
Amec beats forecasts but warns revenue growth is set to slow February 14, 2013 SHARES in oil engineer Amec sank yesterday as it warned revenue growth this year would be lower than expected. Strong growth in conventional oil and gas markets would be offset by softening demand in the mining market and reduced oil sands revenue, the FTSE engineer – which designs and builds infrastructure for the oil and [...]
Airlines work to sew up US mega-merger February 14, 2013 AMR and US Airways yesterday set out on a winding road towards regulatory approval for their $11bn (£7.1bn) merger deal, which was confirmed yesterday. US Air’s management team, led by chief executive Doug Parker, will assume operational control of the airline, while AMR creditors will wind up owning 72 per cent of the combined carrier [...]
Aberdeen buys up two firms in spending spree February 14, 2013 MONEY manager Aberdeen Asset Management hit the acquisition trail yesterday, bolting on a US fund manager and taking a 50 per cent stake in a private equity unit. The investment house, which has had a stellar market run over the year, with its shares increasing 64 per cent, agreed to buy listed fund manager Artio [...]
Zurich beats forecasts to hit £2.5bn profit February 14, 2013 INSURANCE giant Zurich yesterday beat expectations as it unveiled net profits of $3.88bn (£2.5bn) for 2012, an increase of three per cent on last year, helped by healthy returns from the company’s investment division. Although many other insurers have reported a largely disaster-free year, Zurich said it had suffered from “above average levels of catastrophe, [...]
Mongolian mine boss finds himself in midst of ugly Bumi debacle February 14, 2013 BROCK Gill is frustratingly un-Googleable. Type his name into any search engine and you’re instead presented with links to an American illusionist with the same name. This Brock Gill is a miner, but it might take some smoke and mirrors for what he wants to pull off. The 32-year-old Canadian has found himself in quite [...]
Winton Capital hit by $1bn exit of client funds February 14, 2013 ONE of the UK’s biggest hedge funds, Winton Capital, saw investors pull about $1bn (£645m) from its funds last year due to poorer than expected performance. Winton, a quantitative hedge fund set up by Cambridge physicist David Harding in 1997, saw total assets decline from $29bn to $26bn over 2012, a source said. Around $2bn [...]
General Motors hurt in Europe February 14, 2013 GENERAL Motors said yesterday it recorded “another solid year” after its fourth-quarter earnings jumped 89 per cent to $892m (£575.5m), despite wider losses in Europe and higher costs in its core North American market. Full-year profits at the firm fell 36 per cent to $4.9bn, due in part to higher tax rates, while revenues rose [...]
Morgan Crucible to change name February 14, 2013 Industrial materials group Morgan Crucible reported a 25 per cent drop in full-year profits yesterday, and plans to change its name to Morgan Advanced Materials as part of a restructure. Pre-tax profits at the firm, which offers carbon tech services to the aerospace and space exploration sectors, fell to £89.7m in 2012.
