Gould made chairman at BG Group October 31, 2011 BRITISH gas producer BG Group has named Andrew Gould (below), from Schlumberger as its next chairman, kicking off the process to replace Frank Chapman, who is due to retire as chief executive in 2013. Paris-based Gould will take up his new role in May after stepping down from his role as chairman at Schlumberger, the [...]
Npower is fined £2m by Ofgem October 31, 2011 ENERGY regulator Ofgem has slapped a £2m fine on Npower, one of Britain’s “Big Six” power companies, for improperly handling customer complaints. Ofgem said npower — owned by German utility RWE — was in breach of regulations that set standards for the way energy companies handle customer complaints. Complaint handling regulations, which took effect from [...]
Centamin profits soar on higher gold price October 31, 2011 CENTAMIN Egypt yesterday posted quarterly net profits almost three times the year-ago level, boosted by higher gold prices, and said it was on track to hit its revised 2011 gold production target. The miner said third-quarter profits came in at $43.4m (£27m) compared with $14.7m a year ago, as revenue more than doubled thanks to [...]
Tullow in deal with Mauritania to develop three oil and gas projects October 31, 2011 TULLOW Oil said yesterday it has signed a deal with Mauritania and its partners that will enable it to take charge of the development of three oil and gas discoveries made off the coast of the west African country. The company, which has extensive interests across Africa, said that it had raised its stakes to [...]
Homeserve dives on fears of mis-selling October 31, 2011 HOMESERVE, the home maintenance and insurance provider, saw more than £500m knocked off its value yesterday on fears that it had mis-sold services to some customers. Homeserve, led by entrepreneur Richard Harpin, said it had banned all outbound phone calls to sell or market its products until further notice, following a probe by Deloitte that [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW WILL THIS REVIEW AFFECT HOMESERVE LONG-TERM? October 31, 2011 MIKE MURPHY | NUMIS The fall in the share price offers a significantly more attractive entry point if the long-term fundamental story remains intact. That will depend on the reputational damage to the firm and its ability to win new affinity partners outside the UK, but management’s quick and decisive action should help. ANDY BROWN [...]
Allstate sees profits sink on disaster losses October 31, 2011 ALLSTATE shares rose four per cent in after hours trading yesterday after the second largest US home and auto insurer posted a better than expected third quarter operating profit. Net profits, however, fell 55 per cent to $165m from $367m a year earlier after the company said it lost more than $1bn due to catastrophes, [...]
Anadarko in quarterly loss over BP payout October 31, 2011 ANADARKO Petroleum reported a wider quarterly loss yesterday, as the US oil and gas company spent $4bn (£2.5bn) to settle with BP over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster last year. It reported a third-quarter loss of $3.1bn, or $6.12 per share, compared with a loss of $26m, or 5 cents per share, a [...]
CAUDWELL FLIES FROM BULLIES TO BILLIONS October 31, 2011 HOPE FOR everyone who had a miserable time at school – it might not stop you becoming as successful as John Caudwell, the freckle-faced Phones4U founder who rose from his “dog eat dog” start to become a self-made telecoms billionaire. “My childhood was a permanent challenge,” said the once-bullied tycoon. “On my very first day [...]
Samsung will target rivals in M&A spree October 31, 2011 SAMSUNG chief executive Choi Gee-sung yesterday fired a warning shot to rivals General Electric and Philips, saying he will he will aggressively target acquisitions in their sectors to compensate for his flagging chip business. He said he will target growth industries including solar cells, LEDs, biopharmaceuticals and medical equipment to complement his firm’s booming smartphone [...]
