Centamin posts record quarter earnings amid Egypt legal fight November 14, 2012 EGYPTIAN gold miner Centamin yesterday posted record earnings over the three months to September, up 43 per cent quarter on quarter, as its court battle over the right to mine at its flagship asset Sukari showed no sign of weighing on its results. Earlier this month, Centamin said it would appeal an Egyptian court ruling [...]
Strong oil and gas activity lifts AMEC amid mining slowdown November 14, 2012 OIL engineer AMEC yesterday reported trading in-line with expectations, just two days after fellow energy services provider Cape issued a profit warning. Strong oil and gas activity in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and west Africa boosted AMEC in the year to date, although mining activity slowed. The oil and gas division accounts for [...]
RWE starts to stem wholesale losses and cut back expenses November 14, 2012 GERMAN power group RWE said its outlook for the year is rosier after losses from its energy trading unit were less than thought. The owner of Npower said it had halved the loss at its trading and midstream unit to €403m (£324m) for the first nine months of the year. The group has made progress [...]
Toyota to recall millions of cars after discovering new defects November 14, 2012 TOYOTA admitted yesterday that it will recall 2.77m vehicles worldwide, including some of its popular Prius hybrid cars, for steering and water pump problems in the carmaker’s second multimillion-vehicle recall in a little over a month. The defects, which Toyota said had caused no accidents and could each be fixed in an hour or so, [...]
Evraz falls as it seeks to make changes to its bond covenants November 14, 2012 DEBT-LADEN Russian steelmaker Evraz yesterday asked the holders of a $750m (£428m) bond maturing in 2015 to approve the removal of a covenant, sending its shares tumbling. “The company is seeking approval by way of an extraordinary resolution of the holders of the notes to remove a covenant requiring the company to maintain the net [...]
Darty’s revenues lose their spark November 14, 2012 Electrical goods retailer Darty, formerly known as Kesa, yesterday reported a 2.2 per cent fall in revenue for the six months through October and said business conditions would likely remain challenging. Darty had to pay a £50m dowry to a private equity firm last year to take its loss-making UK business Comet off its hands. [...]
Thumbs up for AZ diabetes drug November 14, 2012 Anglo-Swedish pharma giant AstraZeneca (AZ) said yesterday, alongside Bristol-Myers Squibb, that Brussels regulators have approved a new treatment, Forxiga, for type 2 diabetes. The news is a boost for the struggling firm after it was dealt a blow by the federal patent court in Germany on Tuesday. The court ruled that a key patent on [...]
AngloGold mine resumes output November 14, 2012 Operations have resumed at AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng mine in South Africa, following the suspension of operations last week after miners staged a sit-in. Talks between regional management and unions were successful, AngloGold said, and all parties have now agreed principles for safe working conditions. AngloGold said yesterday it can focus on ramping up production at [...]
Who’s switching jobs November 14, 2012 CFA Society of the UK Richard Dunbar has been appointed chairman of the investment membership society. He is currently an investment director at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, where he has worked since 2000. Dunbar has also held senior roles at Blairlogie Capital Management. Puma Investments David Kaye has been appointed chief executive of Puma Investments, [...]
Best of the Brokers November 14, 2012 VODAFONE Morgan Stanley has an “overweight” rating and a 210p target price on the telecoms giant. While first half figures were disappointing, the broker wants to see more progress in Europe. STANDARD CHARTERED Investec rates the bank “buy” with a target of £18. The broker points out that StanChart is one of just two UK [...]
