Would you consider buying royal mail shares? December 17, 2012 BEN BERNICE | BANK OF TOKYO Yes, I think so. It’s a brand name, and I expect a lot of people to be interested in it. If it gained new capital to invest maybe the service would get better. Though of course there’s tough competition with DHL. DAVID BAILEY | BANK OF ENGLAND No. As [...]
Directors want to see new Heathrow runway December 17, 2012 THE INSTITUTE of Directors said today most of its members support a bigger Heathrow Airport as a way to improve aviation capacity in the UK. More than 1,000 directors surveyed by the IoD plumped for expansion at Heathrow as the best way to expand capacity, with 27 per cent selecting this option. Around one in [...]
Energy grid overhaul to add £15 a year to household bills December 17, 2012 ENERGY watchdog Ofgem has approved billions of pounds of investment by energy companies to overhaul the UK’s gas and electricity grid, reducing initial overall spending plans by 16 per cent to 2021. The proposals will nevertheless add £15.10 to the average yearly fuel bill by 2021, Ofgem said. Energy companies initially proposed spending £45.4bn on [...]
Ritz accused of paying no corporation tax in 17 years December 17, 2012 The Ritz hotel has not paid corporation tax since 1995 thanks to its use of legal loopholes, according to last night’s episode of the BBC’s Panorama programme. The landmark building is owned by an offshore trust set up by the Monaco-based Barclay brothers, who yesterday said they do not have any direct involvement in the [...]
Hunting warns of dimmer outlook December 17, 2012 Energy services provider Hunting closed down more than seven per cent yesterday, as it warned the short term outlook was “increasingly cautious” in its operating markets. Hunting said it was seeing a switch from natural gas to liquids drilling in its drilling tools unit, although the London-listed company added that global offshore drilling continued to [...]
New contract splash for Rolls December 17, 2012 Blue-chip Rolls-Royce has netted a contract with the Finnish Navy to supply water jets to power high-speed landing craft. The contract is for 12 craft – to be built by the Marine Alutech shipyard in Teijo, Finland – and will enable the vessels to manoeuvre more effectively in the Scandinavian country’s shallow coastlines. The 19-metre [...]
Centamin counts the cost of Egypt’s unrest December 17, 2012 CENTAMIN shares roared back to life yesterday as the gold miner announced it had restarted exports of the yellow metal. But even a jump of 21 per cent did not restore the company’s share price to the level it was at before it was forced to announce the suspension of operations on 13 December. Shares [...]
DS Smith says £1.3bn deal not affected by accounting probe December 17, 2012 BRITISH packaging company DS Smith yesterday insisted its £1.3bn takeover of Sweden’s SCA Packaging is on track. FTSE 250-listed DS Smith took control of its competitor in June, but the completion accounts have still not being signed off and the firm is understood be disputing the final purchase price. Reports suggest DS Smith is seeking [...]
Oligarchs make peace over the world’s largest nickel producer December 17, 2012 NORILSK Nickel named longtime co-owner Vladimir Potanin as its chief executive yesterday under a Kremlin-inspired deal to end a boardroom war at the world’s top nickel and palladium producer. Roman Abramovich will take control of a 20 per cent voting stake and act as a buffer between Potanin and rival Oleg Deripaska, who owns a [...]
BP sells stake in North Sea gas field for £178m December 17, 2012 OIL major BP yesterday announced it was to sell its interest in a North Sea gas field to SSE for $288m (£178m) in cash. Completion of the deal, to sell BP’s non-operated 50 per cent stake in the Sean gas field, is expected in the first half of next year. Sean, located in the Southern [...]
