African Minerals suffers set-back in Sierra Leone September 23, 2010 AFRICAN Minerals. the Aim-listed iron ore and base metals miner chaired by entrepreneur Frank Timis, yesterday signalled a delay in the formation of a joint venture company that is working on a massive development project in Sierra Leone. The group issued a statement saying that its memorandum of understanding for a $1.5bn (£957m) investment in [...]
Energy deals buoy best quarter for M&A in two years September 23, 2010 THE?VALUE?of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has hit $1,678bn (£1.068bn) so far this year, up 21 per cent from the same time last year, Thomson Reuters said in its review for the third quarter of 2010. Third quarter activity is up 6.8 per cent from the previous quarter at $599bn, marking the strongest quarterly growth [...]
WORLD’S BIGGEST WINDFARM OPENS IN KENT September 23, 2010 THE world’s largest offshore wind farm opened seven miles off the coast of Thanet in Kent yesterday. The project can generate 300 megawatts of wind-powered energy – enough to power 200,000 homes, according to energy secretary Chris Huhne. Swedish energy company Vattenfall, which spent more than two years building the 100-turbine wind farm, is one [...]
Blockbuster files for bankruptcy over $1bn debts September 23, 2010 THE US arm of video and games rental store Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy yesterday in an attempt to cut its debts and restructure its business. The company has been struggling to meet payments on debts of $1bn (£637m). Agreements with its creditors will now allow the company to reduce the debt to $100m. Blockbuster said [...]
Petrobras on track for its £50.4bn sale September 23, 2010 BRAZILIAN state oil company Petrobras has received more than enough investor interest to sell all the stock in the biggest share sale in history in an offer worth up to £50.4bn, two sources familiar with the situation said yesterday. The offer is “comfortably oversubscribed” with strong investor demand, said one of the sources, though is [...]
Pension funds back FRC code September 23, 2010 A RAFT of UK pension funds have come out in support of the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC’s) new Stewardship Code. Eleven pension funds, collectively valued at £180bn, have banded together to back the new code, set out by the FRC in July. In a letter sent to the financial watchdog, the pension funds said they [...]
Kennedys makes unique move to open Miami arm September 23, 2010 CITY law firm Kennedys opened up its first office in America with the launch of a unit in Miami. The insurance specialist is set to open in the Floridian city at the start of next month in a bid to get closer to the firm’s Latin American and Caribbean clients. It will be the first [...]
AstraZeneca files thyroid cancer pill in both United States and European Union September 23, 2010 AN AstraZeneca pill that disappointed last year in treating lung cancer has now been submitted for regulatory approval as a treatment for thyroid cancer, offering the drugmaker a smaller sales opportunity. AstraZeneca said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency had accepted submissions for vandetanib. The FDA also granted priority [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 23, 2010 LCCI The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry has appointed British Airways boss Willie Walsh as its new president following an election at its annual meeting on Wednesday night. Walsh, 48, will serve for two years, until after the 2012 Olympics in London. He has been chief executive of BA since October 2005, having also [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 23, 2010 WELLSTREAM Citigroup has downgraded its rating of Wellstream from “buy/high risk” to “hold/high risk” as the premium seems largely priced in and there is the potential for a takeover deal to not go through. The broker prefers to wait and see on what might happen with the British-based oil services company. DEBENHAMS Goldman Sachs has [...]
