London Metal Exchange shareholders vote on takeover July 25, 2012 London Metal Exchange (LME) shareholders decide on Wednesday whether to accept a £1.4bn offer by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) for the 135-year-old institution. A survey published on Monday with responses from 38 of the banks, funds and industrial users entitled to vote – more than half of the total – showed that most [...]
Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing to buy £645m UK gas assets July 25, 2012 A group of companies controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing has agreed to buy UK gas company Wales and West Utilities for £645m, the latest acquisition by the tycoon that will boost his gas portfolio in Britain. Octogenarian Li has been expanding his business empire by buying into regulated infrastructure and utilities assets in [...]
EasyJet sales rise due to UK’s poor weather July 25, 2012 British budget airline easyJet posted a 10.5 per cent rise in third-quarter revenues, boosted by strong demand for beach holidays due to the poor weather in northern Europe. Europe’s second-largest low-cost carrier on Wednesday said revenues rose to £1.03bn in the three months to the end of June, and issued full-year profit guidance ahead of [...]
BT cuts costs to offset revenue slide July 25, 2012 BT had to rely on deep cost cuts in the first quarter to lift core earnings 2 per cent after tough conditions in southern Europe and the financial sector hit overall revenues. Britain’s biggest fixed-line telecoms firm reported first quarter revenues down 6 per cent to £4.48bnand an outflow of normalised free cash flow of [...]
UK sinks deeper into recession than expected July 25, 2012 Britain’s economy shrank far more than expected in the second quarter of 2012, battered by everything from an extra day’s holiday to budget austerity and the neighbouring Eurozone crisis. Chancellor George Osborne said the country had “deep-rooted economic problems”. The Office for National Statistics said Britain’s gross domestic product fell 0.7 per cent in the [...]
Greece and Spain spark Euro fear July 24, 2012 THE SPANISH government’s borrowing costs shot to a euro-era high yesterday as another regional authority requested a bailout, panicking already nervous investors who now fear a full rescue might be needed to try to help the country out of its debt troubles. It came as EU officials warned Greece could also need another bailout, meaning [...]
Apple slows on iPhone 5 speculation July 24, 2012 APPLE recorded a rare quarter of disappointing sales last night, sending shares down almost six per cent in after-hours trading, as demand for its iPhone fell ahead of the impending release of its next model. The world’s largest company by market value said revenues were $35bn (£22.6bn) in the three months to July, lower than [...]
London’s enterprise sees bright future for business July 24, 2012 LONDON’S businesses are bullish about both their own futures and the short-term economic outlook for London as a whole, according to research published by the London Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) today. A balance of 37 per cent of firms had positive overall expectations for their business over the coming 12 months, compared to [...]
First signs that foreign investors are losing trust in Britain July 24, 2012 WITH the Eurozone back in crisis, it is tempting to assume that Britain will be fine, that we don’t share the problems plaguing much of the continent. Such complacency would be a mistake. As an intriguing note from Credit Agricole points out, there are growing signs that investors are losing confidence in sterling’s status as [...]
Green regrets HSBC failings but will stay on July 24, 2012 TRADE minister Lord Green yesterday admitted that he “regrets” HSBC’s failures in relation to alleged money laundering while he was in charge of the bank – but says he has no intention of resigning. As HSBC’s former chairman and chief executive, Green has come under pressure to explain what he knew about the company’s compliance procedures [...]
