Victoria Oil & Gas share placing helps fund development work in Cameroon March 1, 2010 VICTORIA Oil & Gas has raised £14m from institutional and private investors through an equity placing at 3.25p per share. The placing will allow the Aim-listed company to complete drilling and testing operations at Logbaba, Cameroon. The funds raised will also be used for further passive seismic spectroscopy and geochemical surveys at the West Med [...]
M&S steps up drive for sustainability March 1, 2010 MARKS & Spencer yesterday unveiled plans to ramp up its eco-credentials by opting for more sustainable ingredients and agreeing a living wage for suppliers in its bid to become the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015. M&S said its new plan would extend green targets introduced by the company in 2007, helping to make the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 1, 2010 ROBERT WALTERS Charles Stanley issued a “buy” note on the recruitment giant following signs that having been one of the first sectors to enter the recession, it may be the first to exit. The broker said concerns that the group’s exposure to the finance, accounting and banking sectors have somewhat dissipated ahead of preliminary results [...]
Pearson’s profits up but FT struggles March 1, 2010 PEARSON’S profits shot up 13 per cent in the final quarter of last year and 17 per cent for the full year off the back of a strong performance from its education publishing business. Revenue reached £5.6bn and adjusted operating profit was £858m, giving earnings per share of 65.4p. The results were ahead of analysts’ [...]
JP Morgan Caz retains its lead in adviser rankings March 1, 2010 JP MORGAN Cazenove continues to lead the City’s broker adviser tables, according to the latest rankings from Hemscott. JP Morgan finishes the first quarter of the year with 241 clients, well ahead of Numis Securities which is in second place with 113 clients. Among FTSE 100 clients, JP Morgan Cazenove is again well in front, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 1, 2010 BP The oil giant has appointed Ian Davis, the former chairman of consultancy giant McKinsey, as a non-executive director, effective from April. David is currently senior partner of McKinsey, where he has worked for over three decades. He was chairman and worldwide managing director between 2003 and 2009, and prior to that was managing partner [...]
Santander expands free account March 1, 2010 Santander, the Spanish banking giant which owns the rebranded Abbey business, has boosted its attempts to cross-sell products to existing customers by expanding the offering of its fee-free current account. The Zero Current Account was launched earlier this year to coincide with the rebranding of Abbey and Bradford & Bingley businesses, but was only offered [...]
Stobart realises £61m from sale March 1, 2010 Transport and logistics group Stobart is selling part of its Inland Ports asset to Legal & General for £61m. The sale includes a 528,000 square foot distribution centre developed by Stobart as the new northern hub for Tesco’s fresh food operations. Stobart said the disposal was part of its strategy to invest in assets to [...]
Tomkins boosted by profit news March 1, 2010 Shares in engineering group Tomkins surged four per cent yesterday as the company swung to a full-year profit and hiked its final dividend payout. Citigroup raises its rating on the stock to “buy” from “hold”. Pre-tax profits were $38.4m compared with a loss of $8.1m, aided by one-off items and it said it was comfortable [...]
The future’s bright March 1, 2010 1. KEF REFERENCE 201/2 The ultimate full range bookshelf loudspeaker from perhaps the most design-conscious audiophile manufacturer. It may not be big, but the sound is as vibrant and clear as the colour. And Kef has added 12 new coloured lacquer finishes to choose from for the Reference range. £2,999 www.kef.com. 2. BOSTON ACOUSTICS SOUNDWARE [...]
