Euro 2012 and Jubilee joy for Wetherspoons July 11, 2012 BRITISH pub operator JD Wetherspoon said yesterday cost pressures from government legislation would weigh this year on what has so far been a solid performance boosted by major events. Wetherspoon, whose cut-price drinks and meal offers had made it one of the stronger performing pub chains through the economic downturn, said like-for-like sales, which strip [...]
Shell buys remainder of shares in Gasnor in its LNG expansion July 11, 2012 OIL major Royal Dutch Shell yesterday announced that it was paying $74m (£47.5m) to buy up the remaining shares of Norwegian liquid natural gas (LNG) supplier Gasnor that it does not already own. The company holds 4.1 per cent of the stock but has signed a share purchase agreement which should see it take ownership [...]
Revolymer in AIM debut after £25m fundraising is secured July 11, 2012 REVOLYMER, which makes environmentally friendly chewing gum, made its full debut on AIM yesterday after sealing £25m in fundraising. The shares were placed with institutional shareholders at 100p each, raising £25m. The money from the placing will be used to expand the distribution of its produce in the US and Europe. Revolymer says that the [...]
Barratt upbeat as profits rise due to stable housing market July 11, 2012 BARRATT Developments has forecast a big rise in full-year profit, and said yesterday its drive to build new homes on higher-margin land would allow more progress as long as the housing market remained relatively stable. The group said it expected to post a 41 per cent jump in operating profit before exceptional items to around [...]
UK Mail sees revenue climb as parcels division boosts figures July 11, 2012 UK Mail said yesterday that revenues in the first quarter had climbed by 13 per cent year-on year. Adjusting for the increase in Royal Mail prices brought in on 2 April 2012 underlying group revenues increased by around 10 per cent. The company said that its parcels division had performed strongly and that overall the [...]
Mondi in $782m Nordenia deal July 11, 2012 South Africa’s Mondi Group said yesterday it will buy German packaging firm Nordenia International from Oaktree Capital, in a $782m (£502m) deal that will give the paper maker a bigger presence in consumer packaging. Mondi will buy 93.4 per cent of Nordenia from private equity firm Oaktree and other minority shareholders in a cash and [...]
SEC votes for stock database July 11, 2012 A divided Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday adopted a rule designed to bolster its surveillance of the equities markets by establishing a central database that stores every trade order, execution and cancellation. The rule will bring the SEC one step closer to having a consolidated audit trail to better police for market manipulation and [...]
House prices to remain below peak until 2024 July 11, 2012 UK house prices may not return to their peak until well into the 2020s, claimed a report from PwC yesterday. House prices reached a peak in 2007 that they may not reach until 2017 in cash terms, and 2024 relative to consumer prices, the report said. Average prices are expected to plateau for the next [...]
Lord Mayor: City must gets its house in order after Libor crisis July 11, 2012 THE LORD Mayor of the City of London last night issued an impassioned plea for the square mile to get its house in order, as the Libor fixing scandal threatens to escalate. Traders guilty of manipulating the inter-bank lending rate should be firmly punished, Lord Mayor David Wootton said, insisting that the reputation of the [...]
US trade deficit narrows as oil prices fall and exports increase July 11, 2012 THE US trade deficit narrowed in May, according to data released yesterday by the Commerce Department. The trade deficit stood at $48.7bn (£31.3bn) in May, compared to the revised April figure of $50.6bn. This came from exports that inched up $0.4bn, to $183.1bn, and imports that shrunk $1.6bn to $233.3bn. Michael Moran at Daiwa capital [...]
