Balfour bags new contracts November 11, 2010 Balfour Beatty, Britain’s market leader in big-ticket construction projects, increased its order book in the third quarter, underscoring its resilience in a tough environment for the building sector. The FTSE 250-listed company increased its order book to more than £15bn despite the looming public sector cuts to its core operations.
AMEC reports strong trading November 11, 2010 Oil services and engineering group AMEC said yesterday that its current business trading was near the top end of market expectations after major contract wins with BP and the US Navy. AMEC said its order book stood at £3.1bn and added it was expecting a margin of around nine per cent for group earnings before [...]
Resolution eyes up further deals November 11, 2010 RESOLUTION, the insurance buyout group founded by entrepreneur Clive Cowdery, said yesterday that it remains firmly on the acquisition trail, with a view to exploiting opportunities overseas as well as in the UK. Chief executive John Tiner said the group has a “wider and longer-term ambition to build restructuring projects in other jurisdictions”, including the [...]
Home repossessions tumble November 11, 2010 THE number of homes repossessed by lenders in Britain fell to a two and a half year low in the third quarter, data showed yesterday, but courts issued more orders to reclaim homes, suggesting there may be a rise ahead. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed that 8,900 homes were repossessed in the [...]
Consumer confidence falls again as fears over the recovery grow November 11, 2010 CONSUMER confidence fell for the fifth month in a row in October, according to the closely-followed Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index published today. The index dropped by one point over the month, meaning it now stands 32 points below its interim peak of 84 seen in February of this year. Nationwide attributed the drop in sentiment [...]
BBA enjoys air travel revival November 11, 2010 BBA Aviation said it expected to outperform its markets yesterday and was comfortable with its business growth going forward, as an increase in flying activity boosts demand for its aircraft services. After a difficult 2009, the firm said October is expected to be the twelfth consecutive month of growth in business and general flight activity. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 11, 2010 HILL & SMITH Altium Securities rates the highway infrastructure group a “hold” with a target price of 275p. The broker says it is disappointed by the firm’s recent interim management statement, which reduced the company’s operating profit forecast by £7.5m for the year. Altium has cut its estimates for 2010 pre-tax profit to £41m following [...]
AngloGold sees production rise November 11, 2010 AngloGold Ashanti, the world’s third-largest gold miner, beat its guidance for third-quarter output and costs yesterday. Production rose three per cent from the previous quarter to 1.162m ounces, above its own forecast of 1.15m ounces. Cash costs rose to $643 per ounce from $617 an ounce in the previous three months, still below guidance of [...]
Euromoney is back in the black November 11, 2010 Publishing and electronic information group Euromoney Institutional Investor yesterday reported preliminary results for the fiscal year ended 30 September, reporting a pre-tax profit, compared to a loss last year, reflecting a good recovery in advertising and sponsorship revenues. Profit before tax was £71.42m compared to a pre-tax loss of £17.36m in the previous year. Underlying [...]
Lord Mayor’s show promises pomp, pageantry and a zulu dance troupe November 11, 2010 The City of London will host the Lord Mayor’s Show this Saturday, celebrating the 683rd Lord Mayor Michael Bear. The parade, which starts tomorrow at 11am, follows the new Mayor as he swears allegiance to the Queen. The event will be one of the biggest ever, with 6,000 participants, including Hong Kong acrobats, South African [...]
