OFT renews its probe of Ryanair deal September 1, 2011 THE OFFICE of Fair Trading has resumed its investigation into Ryanair’s minority stake in Irish rival Aer Lingus and said it expected to reach a decision by the end of next month. The move, which Ryanair slammed as “unnecessary” and “damaging”, is part of an OFT probe into whether Ryanair’s 30 per cent holding in [...]
Gulf of Mexico oil firms evacuate staff ahead of approaching tropical storm September 1, 2011 MAJOR oil and gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico shut down some output and evacuated workers yesterday ahead of a weather disturbance that could become this season’s 12th named storm. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said the low pressure area over the central Gulf and moving northwestward had an 80 per cent chance of [...]
Cosalt chief quits amid losses September 1, 2011 Cosalt said its chief executive will step down following the sale of the offshore safety group’s marine unit, and it reported a wider adjusted pretax loss for the first half, hurt by lower volumes and raw material shortages. Mark Lejman, the chief executive since June 2008, has agreed to step down in October, Cosalt said. [...]
Rio Tinto forecasts iron ore jump September 1, 2011 The world needs at least 100m tonnes of additional iron ore supply each year for the next eight years to meet demand growth projections in steel making, miner Rio Tinto said yesterday. At that rate, global iron ore production would almost double over the period, based on industry trade data – largely covered in the early [...]
Pernod looks to organic growth September 1, 2011 French spirits group Pernod Ricard said it was confident about its growth prospects after strong Asian markets lifted its 2010-11 annual earnings and helped defy a fragile global economy. The world’s second-largest spirits group after Diageo said the start of the new fiscal year confirmed the resilience of its markets thanks to brands like Absolut [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 1, 2011 Brooks Madonald Funds The fund management arm of Brooks Macdonald Group has appointed Mark Watson as new business development manager. Watson, based in Brooks Macdonald’s London office in Mayfair, will develop relationships with IFAs, discretionary fund managers and other business professionals to promote BMF’s fund proposition. He joins from Zurich Assurance Company, where he worked [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 1, 2011 ALLIANZ Morgan Stanley reiterates its “overweight” rating on the insurance group with a target price of €117.20, and says it remains the broker’s preferred large cap insurance play. Despite Eurozone sovereign debt risk – Allianz chose to fully write down all of its Greek liabilities to market value – the broker still sees its financial [...]
Bank bounce offsets mining slump to drag FTSE upward September 1, 2011 A BOUNCE back by banks hauled the UK’s leading share index higher yesterday, with earlier falls reversed in the afternoon after stronger than expected manufacturing data allayed fears over the health of the US economy, ahead of a key jobs report. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 24.12 points or 0.5 per cent [...]
Wall Street drops ahead of job report September 1, 2011 WALL Street’s four-day rally ground to a halt yesterday, with major indices falling one per cent ahead of a key labour market report expected to underscore fears the economy is headed for another recession. Financials were the biggest losers, selling off sharply in the afternoon, led by Goldman Sachs. Goldman’s shares fell 3.5 per cent [...]
A home of very grand designs September 1, 2011 Buying an old home to do it up is one thing. Doing it in the teeth of a major recession, in a house with no heating, collapsing ceilings, shot plumbing and rampant damp, and living there while you renovate it from scratch, is probably rather beyond the call of duty. It’s arguably rather a miracle [...]
