Optimum Coal confirms unit of Glencore has bought stake August 29, 2011 SOUTH Africa’s Optimum Coal said yesterday that a unit of Glencore, the world’s largest commodity trader, had bought a 14.1 per cent stake in it. The announcement comes after Optimum, South Africa’s sixth-largest coal producer, confirmed last Friday that it had received takeover approaches. “A consortium comprising Piruto BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore [...]
Canadian gold rush continues as AuRico buys Northgate Minerals August 29, 2011 AURICO Gold, a Mexico-focused gold miner in a drive to reposition itself, said yesterday it would buy Northgate Minerals in an all-stock deal worth C$1.46bn (£909m). The acquisition is the latest in a string of deals involving Canadian gold miners as prices for the metal climb faster than even many of the most bullish forecasts. [...]
Rusal profit drops by 70pc as costs soar August 29, 2011 RUSAL, the world’s third largest aluminium producer, reported a sharper than expected drop in second-quarter profits after rising costs and a weaker US Dollar outweighed price rises and increased production at the company. The Russia-based company, controlled by billionaire Oleg Deripaska (pictured), said its second-quarter net profit fell 70 per cent to $339m (£206.8m) from [...]
Street works are a sign the City is thriving August 29, 2011 LAST week’s news that the government is proposing to charge utilities companies for digging up roads during peak hours is the latest in a long line of measures designed to combat disruption. Such works are a huge problem for all London boroughs. But imposing financial disincentives can only ever be one part of a more [...]
David Lloyd investing £2.5m in children’s brand as obesity rises August 29, 2011 LEISURE group David Lloyd plans to invest £2.5m in its children’s arm after rising public concern over the level of obesity among Britain’s young. It said DL Kids will open facilities at David Lloyd Finchley in North London and Beckenham in Kent in December. It will also open its first continental centre in Barcelona in [...]
Scotland’s economic wellbeing loses pace August 29, 2011 SCOTLAND’S economic prosperity will be overtaken by countries such as Poland and Turkey by 2030, the head of an economic think tank will argue today. Living standards in many poorer countries are rapidly closing the gap, according to the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR). Polish GDP per capita was 19.3 per cent of [...]
Business confidence falls yet trading expected to pick up August 29, 2011 BUSINESS confidence plummeted into negative territory in Lloyds’ August barometer, published this morning. While one in three (34 per cent) companies said they were “more optimistic” about economic prospects than three months ago, more (37 per cent) said they were less optimistic — leaving a negative balance of minus three per cent. The net balance [...]
UK’s professional services suffer a drop in business August 29, 2011 BUSINESS in the UK’s largest sector – services – has unexpectedly fallen at its fastest rate since November 2009, a leading industry survey exposed this morning. A negative balance of 25 per cent of consumer services firms pointed towards a decline in business volumes over the previous three months. In business and professional services, meanwhile, [...]
Lending to manufacturers shows signs of stabilising August 29, 2011 THE availability of finance and the cost of borrowing for manufacturers has begun to stabilise, industry group EEF announced today. At 17 per cent, down from 25.3 per cent, a smaller proportion of firms reported an increase in the cost of borrowing in the third quarter, compared to the last quarter. However, only five per [...]
US boosted by higher spending August 29, 2011 US consumer spending rebounded in July to post the largest increase in five months on strong demand for motor vehicles, a government report showed yesterday. The Commerce Department said consumer spending increased 0.8 per cent, the largest gain since a matching increase in February, after slipping 0.1 per cent in June.
