Earnings up at building group Carillion on better margins and good order book July 7, 2011 BUILDING firm Carillion said first-half underlying earnings grew strongly, helped by improved margins in its support services unit, and added it was well placed to deliver growth in 2011. “Margins are moving forwards in both support services and construction services. This statement puts Carillion on track for the eighth successive year of exceeding market expectations,” [...]
Invensys picked to deliver London Bridge signal job July 7, 2011 INVENSYS has been selected to overhaul the signalling system at London Bridge station as part of the Thameslink expansion, the firm announced yesterday. Network Rail has signed a deal with the rail division of the engineering firm to install signal and telecoms technology, starting in August and running until the end of the Thameslink project [...]
London Capital profits are in-line July 7, 2011 Online spread betting firm London Capital Group said its profits for the first half of the year will be in line with previous forecasts in the region of £3m. The firm said in a trading update that its institutional foreign exchange business hit record volumes of $2.4bn in the period. The group’s new CFD divisions [...]
Aveva enjoying strong demand July 7, 2011 IT firm Aveva said demand for its software from shipbuilders, developers of power plants and oil and gas facilities in fast-growing countries in Asia and South America was continuing to offset tougher trading conditions in North America and parts of Europe. The firm said yesterday it had seen further growth in revenue, order backlog and [...]
Military cost cuts aid Babcock July 7, 2011 Defence services group Babcock said it had traded well in its first quarter, helped by continued outsourcing activity from military customers eager to cut costs, and said it was considering selling some of its US defence operations. Babcock, which maintains Royal Navy submarines, yesterday said it sees significant opportunities for growth both in the UK [...]
Virgin Atlantic holds off strike July 7, 2011 Virgin Atlantic has talked its way out of a summer pilots’ strike after discussions with union Balpa. Virgin said: “We can confirm that negotiations are now concluded and Balpa will present a pay offer to its members over the coming weeks. The threat of strike action has now been removed and our flying schedule remains [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 7, 2011 Pensions First PensionsFirst Group has appointed David Norgrove, who was chairman of The Pensions Regulator from January 2005 until December 2010, as chairman. Norgrove is currently chairman of the Low Pay Commission and the Family Justice Review Panel and deputy chairman of the British Museum. Prior to this, he spent 16 years with Marks & [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 7, 2011 NEXT Morgan Stanley rates the fashion retailer as “overweight” with a new 2,930p target price, which implies a 25 per cent upside. The broker said that Next’s brand and customer proposition continued to resonate strongly with UK consumers. It believes the retailer will continue to generate strong cash flows for the foreseeable future and expects [...]
Commodity shares lift FTSE on sunny US and China stats July 7, 2011 COMMODITY stocks led the FTSE 100 sharply higher yesterday, as US jobs data boosted confidence that the world’s biggest economy was showing signs of picking up heading into second-half. Integrated oils rose along with crude oil as reports showed US private employers stepped up hiring in June and the number of Americans filing for jobless [...]
Stocks boosted by retail and jobs data July 7, 2011 US STOCKS closely sharply higher and the Nasdaq notched an eighth day of gains yesterday as improved labour market and retail sales data raised optimism before today’s critical June payrolls report. Equities have been on a tear recently as improving economic data and a potential resolution to Greece’s fiscal issues paved over fears of slowing [...]
