Imperial sells out to Indian rival for £1bn August 27, 2008 Oil explorer Imperial Energy recommended a £1.4bn takeover offer from Indian state-controlled rival ONGC yesterday. A bid battle had broken out between ONGC and China’s biggest state-owned oil company, Sinopec, which conducted due diligence on the London-listed firm but has not yet submitted a formal offer. But a counterbid from the Chinese firm cannot be [...]
BP closes second pipeline in Georgia as conflict subsides August 13, 2008 British oil giant BP shut down the second of the three pipelines it runs through Georgia yesterday – hours after Russia ended military operations against the former soviet state. BP, part of a 10-strong consortium, that runs a series of pipelines from the Caspian Sea into Georgia, said it cut production in one pipeline as [...]
Outage sparks International Power investors to sell stock August 8, 2008 Shares in International Power slid yesterday after the power generator said a nine-week outage at one of its plants would hit profits by £45m. The firm, led by chief executive Philip Cox, said longer-than-expected maintenance work at its coal power station Rugeley in Staffordshire would hit its second-half results. Cox said: “One unit suffered a [...]
Profit fall at Friends August 8, 2008 Shares in Friends Provident tumbled almost five per cent yesterday as the troubled life assurer disappointed investors by posting a 20 per cent fall in profit while failing to complete the sale of its non-core units. Friends Provident, which has been overhauling its business since the start of the year, said it had not yet [...]
Investor backs Michael Page directors August 7, 2008 Michael Page, the recruitment firm that received an approach this week from Swiss rival Adecco, is worth “significantly” more than its current share price, its biggest shareholder said yesterday. Standard Life investment director of UK equities Lesley Duncan said: “We are fully supportive of Michael Page’s management. The strategy they have been pursuing will, we [...]
Oil to keep sliding after slumping to 3-month low August 6, 2008 Oil fell to $118 a barrel yesterday, a three-month low, as traders reacted to rising supplies and declining demand in America and Europe. The price of US crude fell as low as $118 a barrel, before recovering to trade at $119.13. While in London Brent crude fell by $2.20 to $118.48 a barrel. Oil supplies [...]
Drax profit falls on high carbon charge August 6, 2008 Drax, which runs Britain’s biggest coal-fired power station, saw its first half pre-tax profits fall 28 per cent yesterday to £206m as rising fuel and carbon emissions charges bit into its higher power prices. The large coal fired power station near Selby, Yorkshire, which produces around 7 per cent of Britain’s electricity, said sales rose [...]
Rio loses key mine rights August 5, 2008 Bid target Rio Tinto has lost control of one of its most important iron-ore projects that could generate annual sales of more than $10bn (£5bn), it was revealed yesterday. The Government of Guinea has told Rio that its licence to mine Simandou, one of the world’s largest undeveloped iron-ore deposits, has been rescinded. The company’s [...]
Britain’s future is nuclear with or without BE deal August 4, 2008 Last week nuclear operator British Energy was preparing itself for a £12bn sale to French power giant EDF. This week, that deal lies in tatters and the government may be forced rethink its plans to boost the UK’s long-term reliance on atomic energy. So what next for this troubled firm, operator of the UK’s eight [...]
Shell output falls offset by soaring prices August 1, 2008 Royal Dutch Shell reported a 33 per cent boost in second-quarter profit to $11.6bn (£5.8bn) yesterday as rising oil prices offset production bottlenecks in countries such as Nigeria. Shell, led by chief executive Jeroen van der Veer, sold oil for 76 per cent more than it did in the same period a year ago. In [...]
