Petrofac sees profits surge by a quarter March 5, 2012 BRITISH oil services firm Petrofac said it was confident it would win new contracts this year, a must to put it on track to meet its growth targets, after it posted a forecast-beating 25 per cent jump in profit in 2011. Petrofac said it was seeing a strong pipeline of opportunities across both parts of [...]
City recruiter sees UK fees growth slow March 1, 2012 THE CITY jobs market is unlikely to improve this year, according to the chief executive of recruiter Robert Walters, which yesterday posted slowing growth in its UK business. Despite net fee income growing just three per cent in the UK in 2011 compared to 36 per cent the previous year, a strong performance by the [...]
Xchanging profits slump after transition year for outsourcer March 1, 2012 OUTSOURCING firm Xchanging said yesterday it had seen an increase in potential contracts in the first weeks of 2012, as a restructuring implemented last year began to pay off. Xchanging posted an expected 23 per cent fall in adjusted operating profit to £43.2m but aims to return to growth next year. Cost cuts at the [...]
Kazakhmys is hit by rising output costs March 1, 2012 COPPER miner Kazakhmys posted a flat core profit for 2011 as stronger metal prices were offset by an 18 per cent rise in production costs, including soaring wages for skilled workers in Kazakhstan, home to its core operations. The FTSE 100 miner announced a higher-than-expected 27 per cent dividend hike but warned it was unlikely [...]
US stocks return to the highs of 2008 March 1, 2012 US stocks rose yesterday, moving back to 2008 highs, after a jump in bank shares and further upbeat data on the labour market, though sharp gains in oil prices limited the advance. After losses on Wednesday, the rebound took the S&P 500 back above its 1,370 resistance level, which is seen as key to maintaining [...]
Financial service jobs rise in February 2012 February 29, 2012 MORGAN MCKINLEY FINANCIAL SERVICES AS THE top graph clearly shows, there have been many ups and downs in the City hiring market over the last five years. The fluctuations in financial services hiring are traditionally seasonal, with Christmas, bonus season and mid-summer being the less active periods of the year. However, over the last five [...]
CRH bullish as its profits beat forecast February 28, 2012 BUILDING materials group CRH said yesterday that full-year profits came in ahead of forecasts for its debut results as a FTSE 100 company. CRH said the outlook for 2012 is positive despite rising energy costs and a weaker economic picture in Europe. The Irish company is strong in the US, where it is the major [...]
Hysteria over student visas is damaging our reputation and Britain’s future growth February 28, 2012 THE UK’s higher education sector is an export success story. Only the United States recruits more international students. Those from outside the European Union contribute £2.5bn each year in fees to our universities and spend a further £2.5bn while they are here. If students in further education and private sector colleges are included, the figure [...]
UK GDP drop confirmed February 24, 2012 Britain’s economy shrank in the fourth quarter of last year despite higher consumer spending and strong export growth as businesses slashed investment, official data showed on Friday. The Office for National Statistics confirmed earlier estimates that the economy shrank by 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter, growing by 0.7 per cent on the year – a slight downward [...]
Rudd quits Australian government in PM bid February 22, 2012 AUSTRALIA’S top job could be about to change hands, after foreign minister and one-time leader Kevin Rudd quit his government post yesterday, saying he could no longer work with current Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Gillard last night said her Labor Party will hold a vote on Monday to decide its leadership – though Rudd has [...]