Tullow Oil poised to snap up Heritage Oil assets May 12, 2010 TULLOW Oil is poised to acquire a $10bn (£6.74bn) development project in Uganda as the exploration company awaits approval from the authorities. The group said it expected Ugandan approval to buy assets from Heritage Oil in the next few weeks, allowing it to develop in east Africa. Once the deal with Heritage has closed, Tullow, [...]
ITV loses ad price war but shares gain May 12, 2010 BRITISH broadcaster ITV failed in its bid to win more freedom to set advertising prices but its shares rose almost seven per cent yesterday as a new Conservative-led government raised hopes of deregulation. The Competition Commission ruled that ITV must continue to allow advertisers to renew their existing contracts, adjusted for audience share, and said [...]
Contract wins help swell order book for construction firm Balfour Beatty May 12, 2010 CONSTRUCTION firm Balfour Beatty yesterday said its order book has been boosted by a number of key contract wins, and the integration of a US acquisition is progressing well. Britain’s largest infrastructure contractor said that its order book was ahead of the £14.1bn reported at the end of 2009 and its trading performance so far [...]
Cattles losses pushed up to £745m after review May 12, 2010 BELEAGUERED credit lender Cattles’s losses in 2008 have been revised upwards to £745m after a forensic review revealed previous management had withheld information over the real state of arrears at its Welcome subsidiary. The loss, £190m more than initial estimates, was struck after an impairment charge of £794m spread across the firm’s lending businesses. The [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF FIRST GROUP’S RESULTS? May 12, 2010 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO “The stock currently trades at an undemanding 8.9 times March 2011 earnings. We believe this is too low for a company that offers both recovery potential and outsourcing opportunities. We remain buyers.” MANOJ LADWA | ETX CAPITAL “First Group’s set of numbers would be even more impressive if it [...]
BC Partners steps up €6bn funding drive May 12, 2010 EUROPEAN buyout house BC Partners is understood to be gearing up marketing for one of the year’s most eagerly awaited new funds, aiming to gather some €5.9bn (£5bn). The firm, which founded in 1986 and recently listed German chemicals distributor Brenntag and travel reservations group Amadeus, is thought to have sent out information to new [...]
Irish Nationwide stays in red May 12, 2010 STATE-run Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS) may need further capital from the government if “almost inevitable” losses this year come in ahead of expectations, its chairman said yesterday. INBS, which reported a tenfold widening of its losses in 2009 due to a jump in bad loan provisions, is being propped up by a €2.7bn (£2.3bn) [...]
Pinewood upbeat as the cameras get rolling again May 12, 2010 FILM studio Pinewood Shepperton said yesterday its second-half would be stronger than the first because of a delayed start to the shooting of some films. The firm, which has provided its studios for British classics such as the Bond films and the Carry On series, expects overall revenue for 2010 in line with market forecasts. [...]
Bank of New York Mellon outlines its disappointment at lawsuit from Cuomo May 12, 2010 BANK of New York Mellon is “disappointed” that New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo sued its Ivy Asset Management unit, claiming it kept clients in the dark about investing with Bernard Madoff, BNY Mellon’s chief financial officer said at a conference yesterday. The bank cooperated fully with Cuomo’s office and was disappointed the attorney general [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 12, 2010 ENTERPRISE INNS Citi retains its “sell” rating on Enterprise Inns. Its negative view comes despite recent interim results which it concedes put the pub company slightly ahead of its expectations. But despite a positive market reaction, Citi warns that consensus numbers are likely to fall modestly to reflect higher interest costs. TUI TRAVEL Credit Suisse [...]
