Small but perfectly formed October 20, 2009 Along comes another supermini, this one with a windscreen that reaches back to the end of the front doors. The car is cute, highly styled and with lots of chrome to make it look more premium, reflecting Citroen’s attempt at a smarter image. The windscreen is designed to promote the feeling of space and light, [...]
Take a punt and profit from M&A recovery October 19, 2009 FOLLOWING a dearth of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the wake of the financial crisis, returning confidence and cash to credit-constrained companies has seen a flurry of deals and bids over the past month. Yesterday, Stagecoach made a fresh all-share offer for its beleaguered rival National Express despite a consortium walking away from takeover [...]
Norilsk profit hit on metals price collapse October 19, 2009 Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest nickel miner, yesterday said lower metal prices pushed first-half profit down sharply, but the results beat analyst forecasts. Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 84 per cent year-on-year to $419m (£256m). Mining companies around the world have struggled over the past year as falling industrial demand caused by the global [...]
Range of large cap firms set to give markets an overview October 18, 2009 THERE is a mixed bag of companies reporting this week, but the diverse selection will give investors plenty to digest. FTSE 100 software company Autonomy will post its third quarter results tomorrow, though its management have already signalled that it will be another strong performance. It said earlier this month that it expects to report [...]
MERCEDES’ NEW COUPE IS A TRUE MILE-MUNCHER October 13, 2009 WITH increasing frequency, I get into a new car and find myself banging my head or elbow on something that’s infringing on the space inside the cabin. Take this latest coupe. As I lean forward to adjust the steering column, my head connects with some protrusion above as soon. Airbags, impact protection bars and no [...]
Banks drag down the FTSE as miners and energy drop October 13, 2009 BRITAIN’S top shares closed 1.1 per cent lower yesterday, as weakness in banks outweighed strength in defensive issues, while sentiment was dampened by falls on Wall Street after disappointing corporate earnings. The benchmark FTSE 100 closed 56.02 points lower at 5,154.15, slipping below the 5,200 level which it hit for the first time in more [...]
THE TIPSTER METALS’ SHINE BOOSTS THE FTSE MINERS October 11, 2009 RISING commodity prices have put the mining sector in the spotlight and sent their stock prices soaring. But will the bottom line support the rising share price? Miner Rio Tinto reports on Wednesday and it has made considerable ground since the credit crunch and since rival BHP Billiton declined to acquire them. The focus is [...]
Xstrata’s Anglo bid in doubt October 11, 2009 MINER Xstrata looks set to pull out of its hostile bid for Anglo American, after its rival issued a three-week “put up or shut up” clause on the deal. The usually bullish Xstrata boss Mick Davis is likely to walk away from the proposed merger, which would have created a mining giant worth £56m to [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 8, 2009 Religare Capital MarketsThe broking and investment banking group has appointed Martin Newson as its new chief executive of global investment banking. Newson will be tasked with bringing together the firm’s Indian capital markets franchise with its international investment banking operation. He was previously head of global equities at Dresdner Kleinwort, where he also led the [...]
Miners lead markets higher as gold price holds steady October 8, 2009 THE top share index ended 0.9 per cent higher yesterday, buoyed by the miners on firmer metals prices and optimism over demand prospects. The FTSE 100 closed 45.74 points higher at 5,154.64, after shedding 0.6 per cent on Wednesday. “There doesn’t seem to be the same degree of buying momentum returning to the market after [...]