Ronson petrol purchase nears OK February 13, 2012 Gerald Ronson’s deal to acquire petrol stations from Total and sell some to Shell is close to clearing its final competition hurdle. Ronson’s Snax 24 forecourt business, alongside Investec and Grovepoint Capital, made the deal for Total UK’s assets in June under the name Rontec. At the time, Rontec said it would end up operating [...]
Step-parents fail to update wills February 12, 2012 Parents with step children or adopted children are around twice as likely to put off the drawing up of a will, according to figures from Investec’s wealth and investment arm. The group says that 35 per cent of parents with step children have “avoided creating or amending a will because they are unable to decide [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 12, 2012 The Salamanca Group Jeremy Wrathall has been appointed as managing director of Salamanca Resources, the recently formed division of the group that will focus on the metals and mining sector. He joins Salamanca from Renaissance Capital, where he was head of investment banking for the firm’s London operation and had responsibility for metals and mining, [...]
Rolls positive on 2012 as its earnings soar February 9, 2012 ROLLS-ROYCE yesterday reported a 21 per cent rise in full-year profit, triggered by demand from airlines for more fuel-efficient planes, and said it expects further progress in 2012. The world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines behind General Electric reported underlying 2011 pre-tax profits of £1.16bn compared with a forecast for £1.15bn. This prompted the firm [...]
Factory jump raises chance of a recovery February 9, 2012 UK MANUFACTURING output jumped higher than predicted in December, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed yesterday, leading some economists to suggest the economy may be back on the track to recovery. The production industries as a whole, which includes manufacturing, mining and energy, registered a small rise in output in the month [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS BP ON THE RECOVERY PATH AFTER THE GULF SPILL? February 7, 2012 MALCOLM GRAHAM-WOOD | VSA CAPITAL Despite the apparently positive mood I would have waited until after the settlement of the case before I increased the pay-out, and as I have said before BP were paying out too much in dividends before Macondo… They are being more optimistic about life than more solid industry peers. STUART [...]
Winning run for 888 as gamblers play at home February 7, 2012 GAMBLERS’ love of internet poker has helped gaming firm 888 Holdings to post record revenue. The company said full year revenue increased 26 per cent with the number of customers gambling on its websites growing. At 31 December, 888 had 10.6m casino, poker and sport real money registered customer accounts, up 22 per cent from [...]
IS SHELL’S STRATEgY A WINNER IN VOLATILE MARKETS? February 2, 2012 TONY SHEPARD | CHARLES STANLEY The share price has been weak ahead of these results and understandably, the share price has initially fallen on publication of the results but longer term, Shell has set out a strong set of new growth priorities. Our recommendation remains Accumulate. RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN The initial disappointment of [...]
Oscars could Well be the only one to live with Hurricane Fly February 2, 2012 NO Champion Hurdle winner has set the pulse racing as much as Istabraq in the past 20 years, but some would argue that Hurricane Fly has the potential to be even greater. The 10-time Grade One winning hurdler has had some niggling problems during his career, but when on his game, he is breathtaking. Last [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 1, 2012 Commonwealth Business Council Sir Alan Collins, the UK Olympics ambassador who helped win the Games for London in 2012, has been appointed as director general of the Commonwealth Business Council, the Commonwealth’s agency for promoting trade and investment. He will replace founding director general Dr Mohan Kaul in April. Sir Alan served as ambassador to [...]