Weir Group warns on slowing growth but confirms targets November 5, 2012 ENGINEERING firm Weir Group yesterday said orders fell in the third quarter, although it confirmed its full year profit guidance. Revenue and profit growth at the Glasgow-based pumps and valves maker edged down over the third quarter, largely due to a reduced order book, Weir said. Orders for the group fell eight per cent in [...]
Rio Tinto ramps up its Mongolia mine with Chinese power deal November 5, 2012 ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN copper miner Rio Tinto yesterday said it is set to start production in the next three months on the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia, after signing a deal with a Chinese power company to supply electricity to the site. Within the next few weeks, the flagship $6bn (£3.8bn) copper and gold mine will start [...]
Shanta increases production November 5, 2012 Explorer Shanta Gold yesterday said it was ramping up production at its flagship New Luika gold mine in Tanzania, as it forecast output of 6,000 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter. The miner also reiterated gold production for next year of 70,000 ounces. Shanta also said that Luke Leslie would join the board as [...]
Leni sells Gulf of Mexico assets November 5, 2012 Leni Gas & Oil has signed a deal worth $1.625m (£1m) to sell its assets in the Gulf of Mexico to an American group. The proceeds will allow Leni to accelerate the development on its Trinidad portfolio, particularly on the Goudron field, which has proven reserves of around 7.2m barrels of oil. The sale is [...]
Leakage shuts Talvivaara plant November 5, 2012 Shares in Talvivaara sank yesterday as it said a leakage from a pond on a mine site closed a metals recovery plant in Sotkamo, eastern Finland. The Finnish miner anticipated the plant being reopened tomorrow, after it has strengthened basin ponds on the site. In August, Talvivaara slashed its nickel forecast to 17,000 tonnes for [...]
Asia stagnates as China fights for new growth November 5, 2012 ECONOMIES across Asia failed to fight themselves out of the doldrums that have endured for months, data showed yesterday, with index levels improving only marginally into October. Business surveys recorded improved but marginal output growth in China and Hong Kong, while output in Australia and Japan continued to contract, while India’s expansion slowed down. Only [...]
Taxpayers face rapidly growing public sector pensions burden November 5, 2012 TAXPAYERS will face the bill for public sector pension deficits, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) said yesterday, eventually putting in £4 out of every £5 invested in the schemes. Public sector pension shortfalls will hit £15.4bn in 2016-2017, according to Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts – 77 times higher than in 2005-06 when they [...]
Industry wants coalition to look again at property rates change November 5, 2012 RETAIL and property groups yesterday demanded the government consider axing part of the coalition’s Growth and Infrastructure Bill, which postpones the next property revaluation upon which rates are based. The last ratings revaluation used values from 2008 – at the height of the housing boom – which industry bodies say is penalising firms in the [...]
MPs demand clarity on job training policy November 5, 2012 THE BUSINESS, Innovation and Skills committee has called on the government to simplify and clarify its apprenticeships scheme in order to deliver better results and value for money. The committee, chaired by Adrian Bailey MP, said the government must formally define an apprenticeship, and that this definition must include developing skills – not just consolidating [...]
Weak housing supply to stoke higher rental costs in London November 5, 2012 THE COST of renting a property in London will continue to soar over the next decade, according to an academic paper released yesterday. Professor Michael Ball of the University of Reading found that the supply of housing will keep failing to keep up with the needs of the capital’s workers. While the government claims that [...]
