Salamander welcomes drill rig September 20, 2012 ■ South East Asia-focused Salamander Energy yesterday announced the Atwood Mako rig had arrived and started drilling on the firm’s B8/38 licence in the Gulf of Thailand. The rig will first be used to complete a development drilling programme, after which FTSE 250-listed Salamander will use it to explore two new prospects in the Greater [...]
Xcite Energy shares plummet September 20, 2012 ■ Xcite Energy yesterday closed 18.39 per cent down at 106.5p despite the AIM-listed firm announcing the successful completion of a flow test on its Bentley field in the North Sea. Pre-production well test results exceeded expectations, and the well produced around 147,000 barrels of oil. Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, [...]
London to get 600 Routemasters September 20, 2012 ■ Transport for London yesterday agreed to roll out 600 new Routemaster buses over the next four years, but fare-payers will bear the cost. TfL will buy the buses directly from the manufacturer, after bus operators were reluctant to splash out on the vehicles individually. Around 93 buses will appear by the end of 2013, [...]
There must be an alternative to a Direct Line flotation September 20, 2012 Despite rumblings from analysts that Direct Line might jettison an IPO in favour of a sale to a private equity bidder, RBS has in recent weeks firmly batted away indications of interest from would-be buyers. Instead it has been making it abundantly clear to a number of frustrated investment bankers that it wishes to persevere [...]
UBS risk culture under scrutiny in Adoboli trial September 20, 2012 A CULTURE existed at UBS where traders felt they could ignore risk limits as long as they were making money for the Swiss bank, the lawyer for accused “rogue trader” Kweku Adoboli told Southwark Crown Court yesterday. Adoboli, 32, was arrested on 15 September 2011, and is now on trial accused of fraud and false [...]
US lawmakers review high frequency trading networks September 20, 2012 US SENATORS launched a probe into high frequency trading laws yesterday following the botched Facebook offering in May and the near collapse of US broker Knight Capital last month. Influential lawmaker senator Jack Reed, who leads the Senate Banking subcommittee on securities, said market problems related to HFT programmes needed to be reviewed. “These failures [...]
M&A in Europe crashes to hit a ten-year low September 20, 2012 EUROPEAN merger and acquisition activity crashed to a 10-year low in the third quarter of the year, as dealmaking across the world fell to its slowest level since the depths of the financial crisis, figures out today show. M&A in Europe has totalled $84.2bn (£52bn) so far in the three months to the end of [...]
New trains help to take private spending on railways to £503m September 20, 2012 SPENDING on new trains has pushed private investment in the UK rail system up 35 per cent in the last financial year, figures from the Office of Rail Regulation showed yesterday. This helped to take total spending to £503m, the highest level of investment since 2006/7. Private firms spent £369m on rolling stock during the [...]
Fashion’s finest welcome new September 20, 2012 THERE’S nothing like a magazine launch for an excuse for a party. And we made sure that the celebrations to mark our new luxury lifestyle magazine City A.M. Bespoke were suitably lavish. The champagne was in full flow as guests partied in the relaxed grandeur of the Georgian townhouse of private members club Home House [...]
Ocado blames slowdown on Olympic effect September 20, 2012 OCADO yesterday blamed a slowdown in sales on the disruption caused by the Jubilee and this summer’s sporting events, but said it expects sales to pick up in the last quarter of the year. The online supermarket said sales rose 9.9 per cent to £163m in the 12 weeks to 5 August, down from first-half [...]
