Saracens star brings rugby to the City’s heart August 23, 2012 SARACENS caused a stir in the City again last night when the high-flying rugby team returned to the Honourable Artillery Club for a glitzy pre-season friendly against French stars Stade Francais. The 2011 Premiership champions won 61-17, with England winger Chris Ashton scoring a hat-trick. But it wasn’t just the rugby getting tongues wagging. The [...]
Bob Diamond’s fiercest critic threatened by act of sabotage August 23, 2012 BANK-BOTHERING Labour MP John Mann won few friends in the City establishment with his robust denunciations of Bob Diamond during July’s hearings into Barclays’ abuse of the Libor rate. But the star of the Treasury select committee (who describes himself in press releases as “Outspoken Labour MP John Mann”) yesterday revealed that he had a [...]
Petropavlovsk rocked by 91pc drop in profits August 23, 2012 SHARES in London-listed Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk slumped 15.97 per cent in trading yesterday, as it posted a 91 per cent drop in profit for the first half of the year. Interest payments, depreciation and foreign exchange costs were behind the sharp profit slump to $11m (£6.93m), from $108.2m last year. Net debt ballooned to [...]
Kazakhmys slashes dividend payout as metal prices tumble August 23, 2012 FIRST-HALF profit at Kazakhmys slumped by nearly 65 per cent, as the copper miner slashed its dividend by almost the same amount. Profit for the six months to 30 June came in at $307m (£193m), down from $866m the year previously. It is the latest miner to be hit by the drop in commodity prices, [...]
South Africa mourns mining dead August 23, 2012 SOUTH Africans held a memorial service yesterday at a mine where police shot dead 34 strikers. Some 500 people crammed into a marquee pitched at the platinum mine, near what has been dubbed the “Hill of Horror” where police opened fire on striking miners.
Costain boosted by infrastructure August 23, 2012 Infrastructure profits have buoyed engineering and construction group Costain, as it posted a 16 per cent increase in profits for the first half of the year. Profits in its infrastructure division, which includes big-ticket contracts with Crossrail and the London Bridge redevelopment, were up 91 per cent year-on-year.
Qatar increases holding in Xstrata August 23, 2012 Qatar Holdings, the second-largest shareholder in Xstrata after Glencore, has bought nearly £24m of shares in the takeover target. It takes its holding in Xstrata to more than 12 per cent. Qatar has been raising its stake in the miner since July, and formerly owned just less than 11 per cent of the company. The [...]
Premier Oil posts record results August 23, 2012 FTSE 250 exploration and production firm Premier Oil posted pre-tax profits of $194.6m (£122.5m) for the first half yesterday, up from $32.5m the year before. The results were flattered by acquisitions and new ventures in Vietnam, Iraq, Norway and the UK. Average production rose 58 per cent year-on-year, hitting 58,400 barrels of oil a day [...]
Business loans plunge as firms delay investing August 23, 2012 LENDING to businesses was squeezed once more in July, according to a report released yesterday by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). Lending to non-financial companies decreased by over £500m in July, the BBA said, driven by big declines in loans to the retail, catering and hospitality and real estate sectors. This decline caps off a [...]
Olympic feelgood factor fails to lift gloom on British high street August 23, 2012 GLOOM on the high street has continued in August, a leading survey revealed yesterday, with retailers becoming even more downbeat over business prospects for the next three months. Despite an uplift in morale from sunny weather and the London 2012 Olympic Games, retail sales were virtually flat compared to the same time last year. The [...]
