Astrazeneca lung drug hits a fresh hurdle August 31, 2010 ASTRAZENECA’S MedImmune biologics unit has been asked by US regulators for more information on its infant lung drug motavizumab after drug regulatory advisers recommended against approving it in June. The request, known as a complete response letter (CRL), from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asked for evidence from an additional clinical trial to [...]
UK rated worst place to live by expats August 31, 2010 EXPATS living in the UK have rated the region as one of the least favourable locations to live in the world, citing difficult job markets, reduced levels of disposable income and higher personal debt as the reasons, according to new survey findings. HSBC’s annual Expat Explorer survey found that the UK was rated by expats [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 31, 2010 CARREFOUR Execution Noble issues a “sell” rating on the French grocer following its first-half results yesterday. The broker says some of Carrefour’s key markets are deteriorating, for example in Brazil, and that the firm’s new strategy in France will be critical to any recovery. Shares are trading at a six per cent premium to the [...]
INVESTMENT BANK OF THE YEAR August 31, 2010 THE story of the last year for investment banks has been recovery. While the rest of the economy has remained sluggish the smartest bankers have bounced back and returned to profit – sometimes spectacularly so. Still, things will never be the same. A re-ordering of the banking world is ongoing, and our list reflects this. [...]
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR | THE SHORTLIST DAY 2 August 31, 2010 IF it’s whizz-kids you are looking for, then the City is the place to find them. Our list of the brightest young things is varied, but every one of them has shown real talent and verve so far in their careers. Some are young, others are just new to the City, but all of them [...]
Jaguar’s new lease of life August 31, 2010 IT might have been disappointing but it came as no surprise that there was no chance for me to test the maximum speed of Jaguar’s fastest XKR yet, even at Goodwood’s race track. Jaguar’s latest optional Speed Pack really turns up the heat. Underneath it’s the usual Jaguar XKR with its 503bhp supercharged V8 but [...]
CAR TALK August 31, 2010 PEUGEOT’S FULL HYBRID DIESEL This is the Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4 Crossover, the first full hybrid diesel production car. With its 2.0 litre diesel engine plus a 37bhp electric motor, the car can achieve up to 74.4mpg while emitting only 99g/km of CO2. When it’s launched in January next year it will run in four modes: [...]
Rusal swings back into the black again August 31, 2010 Russia’s Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer, said yesterday it swung back to the black in the second quarter as sales increased, and added it plans to launch depositary receipts in Russia later this year. In total, for the six months to the end of June Rusal produced a net profit of $1.27bn (£825m), compared [...]
Omega counts cost of disaster August 31, 2010 LONDON-listed property and casualty insurer Omega Insurance sank into the red in the first half of the year, weighed down by a string of costly natural disasters including the Chilean earthquake. “These catastrophe losses, together with the lag that currently exists in 2010 premium earnings, have had a major effect on our half-year results,” chief [...]
Medusa Mining reports a record first-half profit August 31, 2010 MINE operator Medusa Mining has reported a record first-half net profit of $65.8m (£42.9m). The figure, for the year to 30 June, is up 131 per cent, boosted by increased gold production and higher prices. Revenue was also up 121 per cent to £94.6m, the company said. Medusa, which said it remained debt-free, received an [...]
