London Report: Failed vaccine test for Glaxo pricks the FTSE March 20, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index fell yesterday, hit by a drop in drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline and a hint from the Federal Reserve that US interest rates may rise sooner than previously expected. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which rose 14.4 per cent in 2013 and came close to a 13-year high in January, closed down 30.69 [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of Ophir Energy’s exploration update? March 19, 2014 DRAGAN TRAJKOV | ORIEL SECURITIES We are puzzled by the market reaction. Exploration is a numbers game and in order to systematically benefit from it, it is necessary to be patient. Ophir has a good exploration record at a low entry cost. BRIAN GALLAGHER | INVESTEC Sourcing has proved inconclusive and now is the primary [...]
Shares in bookies crash as Osborne hikes taxes on betting machines March 19, 2014 Some of Britain's leading bookmakers are taking a beating after George Osborne announced that the tax on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) would be raised from 20 per cent to 25 per cent. Shares in Ladbrokes have crashed by 12 per cent while William has suffered a decline of six per cent. Investec specialist bank [...]
Here’s looking at you, Kidd… March 18, 2014 Jodie named face of the 2014 Investec Derby ANY LADIES planning to glam it up on Ladies’ Day at the Investec Derby Festival in Epsom Downs on 6 June will have stiff competition from the official face of the event – its organisers have revealed that this year it will be supermodel Jodie Kidd. Not only [...]
Antofagasta hit by slide despite bumper payout March 18, 2014 CHILEAN copper miner Antofagasta briefly delighted the market yesterday with a better-than-expected dividend, but a decline in full-year revenue and earnings took the shine off results. The FTSE 100-quoted company issued a final dividend of 86.1 cents per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 95 cents per share. This represents a total [...]
Wolf raises £99m to fund UK mine March 18, 2014 Wolf Minerals, the London and Australia-listed specialty metals company, yesterday said that it has raised $182.7m (£99.2m) to complete the construction of the Hemerdon Tungsten-Tin Project in Devon, which will be the first metals mine to open in the UK for over 40 years. Berwin Leighton Paisner acted on behalf of Numis Securities, Investec and [...]
Miner Antofagasta hit by weak prices and high costs March 18, 2014 Chilean-based miner Antofagasta has reported a 25 per cent fall in profit to $2.1bn (£1.3bn) in 2013, although it has pledged a much larger than expected dividend for shareholders. Shares have jumped almost six per cent this morning on the news. Chief executive Diego Hernandez said the year was a challenging one, as the firm was [...]
London Report: Osborne in spotlight as Britons await the 2014 Budget details March 17, 2014 THE spotlight will be on Chancellor George Osborne this Wednesday as he delivers the 2014 Budget. Other economic news includes the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) minutes plus unemployment figures, also on Wednesday, the CBI Industrial Trends survey on Thursday and government borrowing figures at the end of the week. The corporate calendar starts today [...]
Price soars as bond investors go loco for Lloyds’ new coco March 13, 2014 THE PRICE of Lloyds capital notes has soared in recent weeks as the bank prepares to swap them for contingent convertible (coco) bonds. The bank is issuing up to £5bn of the new instruments, but the only way to get hold of them is to hold the enhanced capital notes (ECNs) which the bank is retiring. However, [...]
Coal of Africa narrows its losses March 10, 2014 Coal of Africa yesterday said losses had narrowed to $46m (£27.6m) in the first half of the year, as the triple-listed company cut costs as part of its turnaround strategy. “[The firm] has made good progress with its turnaround strategy in the last twelve months, having concentrated on selling non-core assets and closing down loss [...]