Amplats swings to 2012 loss following strike February 4, 2013 Anglo American Platinum this morning posted an operating loss of ZAR6.3bn (£451m) for 2012, a drop of 180 per cent from a profit of almost ZAR8bn last year. Lower sales volumes due to the two-month long strike last year, higher mining costs and lower costs all weighed on results. Amplats, which is 80 per cent [...]
Lonrho forecasts full-year loss February 4, 2013 African conglomerate Lonrho said this morning it will post a net operating loss for the full year due to contract delays. The conglomerate, which has interests across agriculture, infrastructure, support services and hotels, said it expects to report a net operating loss of between £3m and £5m for 2012. “The shortfalls have largely reflected delays [...]
Hitachi slashes full-year operating profit forecast February 4, 2013 Japanese electronics maker Hitachi has cut its full-year profit forecast to 420bn yen (£2.8bn), hurt by a weak European economy and a slowdown in emerging markets. The firm today posted a 28 per cent fall in third quarter operating profits, coming in well below forecasts. Hitachi posted operating profit of 68.3bn yen for the three [...]
US web ad firm to raise £12.5m in London IPO February 4, 2013 A US online advertising company will today announce plans to raise up to £12.5m on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) as a springboard for expansion into Europe. Digital Global Services (DGS), which buys advertising space on search engines and Facebook for telecoms companies, is looking to float in mid-February despite not yet having a presence [...]
Osborne bashes banks February 3, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT is undermining banks’ stability and hitting lending to businesses and households by threatening to break up the institutions, banks warned last night. Chancellor George Osborne will today announce his plan to electrify the ring fence that will sit between banks’ retail and investment operations. Under the proposal, banks that try to dodge this [...]
Barclays shake-up February 3, 2013 New Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins is looking for a new finance director following the departure of Chris Lucas, the bank said yesterday.
Barclays finance director announces his departure February 3, 2013 BARCLAYS finance director Chris Lucas is to announce his resignation today, the bank has revealed, continuing the clear-out of top executives since the Libor interest rate manipulation scandal broke last summer. General counsel Mark Harding is also leaving the bank. The resignations come just days after it emerged the authorities are investigating a 2008 fundraising [...]
Recession and higher tax taking toll on Britain’s top earners February 3, 2013 The rich are getting poorer. Yes, you read that right. The top one per cent of income taxpayers – an individual needs to earn £150,000 per year to qualify – will account for 11.7 per cent of total taxable income this year, down from 12.2 per cent in 2011-12. Their income share peaked at 13.9 [...]
City boosted by early year jobs pick-up February 3, 2013 CITY hiring jumped sharply last month, rebounding from record lows recorded in December and hinting there may be some hope that the pressures on financial services firms are easing a touch, according to new data out today. A total of 2,509 jobs were created in January, recruiters Astbury Marsden report today, more than three times [...]
Sweeping changes from new broom February 3, 2013 WHETHER or not the departures of Chris Lucas and Mark Harding from Barclays are related to any ongoing investigations (and the bank is very keen to point out that they’re definitely entirely separate), the pair were notably among a dwindling number of executives to remain from the era of the bank’s swashbuckling former chief executive [...]
