Tax dispute forces Tullow Oil to abandon drilling in Uganda November 10, 2010 EXPLORER Tullow Oil said a dispute with the government of Uganda had forced it to abandon drilling at two oil-rich blocks near Lake Albert and that it was unsure when this would recommence. The London-based company added that the government was wary of agreeing to a plan to decouple Tullow’s dispute from another, potentially lengthier, [...]
US shakes up swap dealing rules as implements Frank-Dodd reform November 10, 2010 THE US futures regulator released proposals to govern the “back office” functions of swap dealers and other big players yesterday, but said more controversial elements for swaps participants remained to be determined. The rules, including new firewalls between analysts and traders, are part of a series of 50 to 60 regulations to implement the Commodity [...]
Upbeat Great Portland sees strong gains November 10, 2010 Great Portland Estates booked a 7.3 per cent half-year gain in its London property portfolio to £1.46bn, buoyed by higher income as tenants seek its more affordable office space. The landlord, known for offering office and retail space at competitive rents in the popular West End business district, yesterday said its adjusted net asset value [...]
IS Pharma prepares to buy November 10, 2010 Pharmaceutical products supplier IS Pharma yesterday announced it will raise £12.5m to fund an acquisition drive. The new fundraising comes after the firm raised £3.6m last month by placing new shares. Some of the cash raised will go towards covering contingent payments for past acquisitions. It will be added to its cash balance of £5.1m. [...]
Google gives all its staff a 10pc pay rise November 10, 2010 GOOGLE is handing all of its employees a 10 per cent pay rise and a pre-Christmas bonus of $1,000 in a move that will cost the search giant a reported $1bn a year. Employees received the news in an internal memo emailed to staff from Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt. Tax on the “holiday [...]
SSE posts dip in profits but lifts dividend November 10, 2010 ELECTRICITY firm Scottish & Southern Energy yesterday posted forecast-busting first-half profits and pledged to stick to plans to raise its dividend, boosting its shares. SSE blamed high wholesale gas prices and low renewable energy output for a 6.1 per cent fall in adjusted first-half pre-tax profit to £386m, beating market forecasts of £361m. The group’s [...]
UK Coal unveils new head amid reshuffle of its board November 10, 2010 Britain’s biggest coal miner UK Coal appointed Jonson Cox as its new executive chairman yesterday, as part of the board restructuring it announced earlier this year. In July, UK Coal had said chief executive Jon Lloyd and non-executive chairman David Jones would leave the company, with the company splitting the responsibility for its coal and [...]
Finance chiefs not concerned by double dip November 10, 2010 FEARS of a double-dip recession appear to have dissipated, as UK finance leaders say their greatest concern now is how to manage their balance sheets, according to a survey published yesterday. Specialist recruitment firm Robert Half said the survey of over 200 chief finance officers (CFO) found more than 44 per cent were worried about [...]
Unicredit hurt as its trading income drops November 10, 2010 ITALY’S UniCredit SpA will keep investing in high-return eastern Europe and won’t curb its investment bank, new chief executive officer Federico Ghizzoni said after sluggish volumes and high tax dragged profit below forecasts. In his first earnings presentation since taking over on 30 September from Alessandro Profumo, Ghizzoni said he did not plan to reduce [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 10, 2010 Aveva The engineering software group has appointed James Kidd to its board as its new chief financial officer, effective from the beginning of next year. He replaces Paul Taylor, who has been finance director for the past decade. Kidd, 40, has been at Aveva since 2004, including four years as head of finance. A chartered [...]
