Petrofac shares have jumped as bidding activity increases on rising oil prices February 22, 2017 Petrofac's shares jumped today on increased bidding activity in its core Middle Eastern markets, as oil prices continued to recover. The figures For the year to the end of December, oil and gas service provider Petrofac posted a net profit of $1m (£802,439) compared with a loss of $349m the previous year. Reported profit was hit by $319m of exceptional items [...]
City Moves for 22 February 2017 – who’s switching jobs? February 22, 2017 Today's City Moves cover property planning, analytical ratings, energy and engineering. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Indigo Planning Indigo Planning has appointed Sam Pullar as associate director. He joins the group with more than 12 years’ planning and development experience in London and the South East. Much of Sam’s work to date [...]
BHP Billiton swings back to profit on strong commodity prices and boosts its interim dividend February 21, 2017 Global mining giant BHP Billiton today revealed a boost to its interim dividend after posting a swing back to profit due to higher iron ore prices. The figures For the six months to 31 December 2016, BHP Billiton said it made an attributable profit of $3.2bn (£2.6bn), up from a loss of $5.7bn the previous year. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and [...]
Why is M&A rising? The bigger the company, the more likely it is to survive February 20, 2017 Investor sentiment is still skyrocketing as Donald Trump continues his victory lap and investors revel in the fanfare. The markets are behaving as though the White House’s as-yet-undetailed economic policies will cure all ills, from the simmering uncertainty around French, Dutch and German elections to the biggest pain for chief executives – technology disruption. The [...]
Uber’s facing some serious allegations of sexism, harassment and a toxic work culture February 20, 2017 Uber is facing serious allegations of sexism in the workplace after explosive revelations from a former engineer at the billion-dollar startup. Chief executive Travis Kalanick labelled the behaviour "abhorrent" and "against everything we believe in", promising an investigation, after former engineer Susan Fowler published details of her experience at the company. In the blog post, she describes being [...]
Founding Fathers 1, populists 0: The US constitution is taming Trump February 20, 2017 “Through all the gloom I can see rays of ravishing light and glory.” – John Adams to his wife Abigail, July 3, 1776, after Congress voted for Independence “Good people don’t go into government.” – Donald Trump Donald Trump’s first month in office ended with a bizarre, rambling press conference that made incompetence into a [...]
Amazon creates thousands of new jobs in another win for post-Brexit UK and Expedia expands London office February 20, 2017 Amazon is the latest US tech giant to commit to the UK after the vote for Brexit, promising to create thousands of new jobs by the end of the year. Some 5,000 full-time jobs will be created across Amazon's business in the UK, bringing total headcount to 24,000 by the end of 2017. The plans include jobs [...]
The government must relax visa rules to safeguard our tech boom February 20, 2017 The UK digital technology sector is emerging as a global force. A record £6.7bn was invested in UK tech firms in 2016, more than any other European country. In contrast, the automotive sector received £1.66bn in investment. This record boom means the sector already accounts for 16 per cent of domestic output compared with 10 per [...]
German minister hits out at London Stock Exchange bosses over mega-merger February 19, 2017 Politicians from the German state of Hesse say LSE bosses are insisting on London as the legal base for the merged LSE-Deutsche Boerse exchange due to concerns about the post-Brexit future. The proposed £21bn mega-merger is pending approval by the European Commission, and Hesse, the German state which includes the city of Frankfurt, home to [...]
Prime Minister Theresa May to meet Peugeot boss to discuss Vauxhall takeover deal February 18, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May will meet the boss of Peugeot SA to discuss the group’s takeover bid for General Motors’ (GM) European operations, including British brand Vauxhall. May has been invited to meet the chair of the managing board of Peugeot SA (PSA), Carlos Tavares, to discuss the deal. A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed there [...]