Gold Fields spin-off plans show decline of South African mining November 29, 2012 GOLD Fields, the world’s fourth-largest bullion producer, is spinning off its two oldest South African mines in the latest sign of the country’s once mighty gold industry succumbing to declining output and soaring costs. In a move that nearly severs its ties with South Africa, Gold Fields’ 70-year-old KDC mines near Johannesburg and its Beatrix [...]
Monarch’s recovery on course as turnover and traffic increase November 29, 2012 MONARCH said yesterday that its turnaround plan is progressing faster than expected as the airline and holiday group posted rising turnover and passenger numbers. The firm did not release an earnings figure for the year to October, but finance director Robert Palmer said the losses were “substantially reduced” on the £45m operating loss a year [...]
Thrifty business jet-setters dent Hogg Robinson November 29, 2012 HOGG Robinson shares fell five per cent yesterday after the corporate travel services group posted falling revenues and earnings. The FTSE Small Cap-listed firm said turnover fell 10 per cent to £168.9m for the six months to the end of September, while underlying pre-tax profits declined seven per cent to £17.3m. The group blamed currency [...]
Invensys ascent continues after Siemens deal November 29, 2012 SHARES in technology firm Invensys continued to climb yesterday, as investors reacted to news it had offloaded its rail division to Germany’s Siemens for £1.7bn. After rising more than 20 per cent in late trading on Wednesday afternoon, when the deal was announced, shares in Invensys gained another nine per cent yesterday, closing at 305.8p [...]
Phoenix IT swings to loss after manipulated books discovered November 29, 2012 ACCOUNTING irregularities have forced business software firm Phoenix IT into a £68m writedown, the company said yesterday. The impairment, which led to the downfall of chief executive David Courtley and the sacking of Phoenix IT’s auditors Deloitte in October, dragged the company into a pre-tax loss of £63.3m in the six months to October. The [...]
Belden selling unit to Carlisle November 29, 2012 CABLE maker Belden said yesterday it will sell its Thermax and Raydex cable businesses to diversified manufacturer Carlisle Cos for about $265m (£165.4m), including debt, as it looks to exit the aerospace and defence markets. Belden, which also makes cables and networking products for the broadcast and consumer electronics industries, has been unable to remain [...]
Cisco snaps up software firm November 29, 2012 CISCO Systems said yesterday it will buy privately held network traffic-management software maker Cariden Technologies for about $141m (£88m) in cash. Cariden will be integrated into Cisco’s service provider networking group unit, Cisco said. California-based Cariden supplies network planning, design and traffic management solutions for telecommunications service providers. This is Cisco’s third acquisition in November. [...]
Hedgies bet on fresh downturn in tech shares November 29, 2012 HEDGE funds increased their bets against big name European technology stocks last month, after data showed a surge in the short selling of shares in the sector. Data out this week shows 6.7 per cent of European technology shares – including big name brands like Nokia and Logitech – are currently out on loan to [...]
Asian sparkle fades for Tiffany & Co November 29, 2012 JEWELLER Tiffany & Co yesterday lowered its full-year sales and profit outlook for the third straight quarter and posted lower-than-expected revenue and earnings after a drop in same-store sales in its Asia market. Like-for-like sales at Asian stores fell four per cent, excluding currency effects, as global sales rose 3.8 per cent to $852.7m in [...]
Royal Bank of Canada profit rises November 29, 2012 Royal Bank of Canada’s quarterly profit rose 22 per cent on a sharp jump in fixed-income trading revenue and steady loan growth, suggesting the long-awaited slowdown in Canadian consumer lending has yet to materialise. The bank, Canada’s largest, earned C$1.9bn (£1.2bn), or C$1.25 a share, in the fourth quarter ended 31 October. That compared with [...]
