Amplats loses £79m over South Africa strikes October 12, 2012 Anglo American Platinum has lost ZAR1.1bn (£79m) during the four-week strike at its Rustenberg operations, the miner said today. On average, it has lost 3,800 ounces of platinum each day, amounting to 67,000 ounces overall since the strike started on 12 September. Attendance at the Rustenberg operations has remained below 20 per cent, and the [...]
Flybe adds 12 Finnair routes October 12, 2012 Budget airline Flybe today finalised a deal to operate twelve short haul routes in the Nordic and Baltic regions for struggling Finnish carrier Finnair. The plan, announced in May, will see Flybe take over a third of Finnair’s European routes as of 28 October, operating hundred-capacity Embraer E190 aircraft on its behalf. The aircraft will [...]
Volkswagen reports jump in sales October 12, 2012 German car maker Volkswagen today said global sales increased by 9.7 per cent for the first three quarters of the year. The company announced a 6.6 per cent increase in group sales, 801,000 vehicles, in September. The German firm delivered 2.8m vehicles over the European market, while deliveries in North America for the nine months [...]
Morgan Sindall and Arup net £1.1bn Sellafield contract October 12, 2012 Building group Morgan Sindall and engineering consultancy Arup have secured a £1.1bn services contract at the Sellafield nuclear site, Cumbria. The joint venture will improve and develop key infrastructure assets at Sellafield including the maintenance of steam and electricity generation, water supply, chemical storage and distribution, drainage networks and all transport infrastructure at the nuclear [...]
Online retailers face OFT action October 12, 2012 Over a third of the UK’s top online retailers could be breaking consumer laws, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced today. The OFT conducted checks on 156 popular websites, finding that 62 retailers may not be fully compliant with distance-selling regulations and other consumer protection guidelines. In particular, the OFT expressed concerns that 33 [...]
Gazprom sells Manchester unit for £13.5m October 12, 2012 Energy Assets has bought Russian energy giant Gazprom’s Manchester unit for £13.5m. The London-listed gas meter specialist will acquire Gazprom’s subsidiary, Gazprom Global Energy Solutions (GGES), for £6m in cash, a bonus payment of £3m and existing debt of £4.5m that will be refinanced upon acquisition. The transaction will more than double Energy Assets’ portfolio. [...]
FTSE 100 weighed down by engineering stocks October 12, 2012 The leading blue chip index opened modestly down this morning, as enthusiasm over positive US jobs data was pared back by weak UK construction data. Engineering companies felt the pressure on the FTSE All-Share this morning. Materials group Morgan Crucible dropped 12.51 per cent this morning. It warned on profits across its businesses, with Europe [...]
Construction output sinks 11.6 per cent year on year in August October 12, 2012 Construction output in the UK fell by 11.6 per cent year on year in August, official data from the Office for National Statistics said this morning. Construction fell 0.9 per cent from July, after a surprise 2.1 per cent bounce the month previously. The main drag came from new work, which fell by 15.6 per [...]
British Gas confirms price hikes October 12, 2012 British Gas this morning confirmed it is to hike gas and electricity prices by an average of six per cent, adding £80 to the average annual dual fuel bill. The increase, equating to £1.50 a week for customers, is blamed on rising wholesale prices. British Gas last raised prices in August 2011, and today’s increase, [...]
Bad weather hits Travis Perkins sales October 12, 2012 Building materials supplier Travis Perkins this morning posted a 3.5 per cent decline in like for like sales over the three months to September, blaming poor weather and tough competition. The firm, whose brands include City Plumbing, Keyline, Tile Giant, BSS and Wickes, said that sales were down in all but one of its divisions, [...]
