Rise in profits blows lid off Rexam shares August 3, 2011 EUROPE’S largest drinks can maker Rexam has beaten forecasts with a 19 per cent rise in first-half profit, helped by demand for energy and ice tea drinks and a growing trend among cash-strapped shoppers to consume at home. The UK firm, which makes Red Bull and PepsiCo cans as well as packaging for food, healthcare [...]
Xstrata profits surge by 30pc August 2, 2011 Xstrata came broadly in line with forecasts with a 30 per cent jump in first-half core profit and more than doubled its dividend, pointing to a stronger second half as its copper unit helps the miner recover from a flood-hit start to 2011. The fourth-largest UK-listed diversified miner – which last week unveiled production numbers [...]
Shell doubles its takings as it warns the end of low cost oil July 28, 2011 ROYAL Dutch Shell’s chief executive yesterday declared the end of low cost oil and gas, warning that companies were entering a world where finding hydrocarbons was going to be “more complex”. Peter Voser was speaking as the company revealed a 77 per cent rise in second quarter profits, fuelled by higher oil prices and the [...]
Centrica sees £1.3bn profit July 28, 2011 British Gas owner Centrica has seen operating profits of £1.3bn in the six months to 30 June. The figure was down 19 per cent on the same period last year. The results include a 54 per cent fall in operating profits at its residential energy division, British Gas, to £270m. Yesterday British Gas was fined [...]
More firms poised to raise fuel prices July 24, 2011 MORE than 12m customers, including households and small businesses, will next month see their gas and electricity bills increase by up to £200 a year. While half of the UK’s “Big Six” utility companies have now raised their fuel prices, the remaining three – Npower, EDF and E.ON – are expected to follow suit in [...]
US inflation pressure high and industry weak July 15, 2011 US consumer prices fell slightly more than expected in June on weak fuel costs, but underlying inflation pressures remain high, new data shows. The US consumer price index fell 0.2 per cent, the Labor Department has said, the largest drop since June 2010, after rising 0.2 per cent in May. Economists had expected prices to [...]
Early summer sales tame UK inflation July 12, 2011 EARLY summer sales in British stores saw consumer price inflation tamed down to 4.2 per cent in June, yet analysts still expect the index to rise above five per cent in the coming months. “With surplus stock to shift, this year’s summer sales appear to have started relatively early, and perhaps with bigger price cuts [...]
Huhne announces £110bn shake-up for UK electricity July 12, 2011 ENERGY secretary Chris Huhne has said more than £110bn is needed to keep Britain’s lights on, in the biggest shake-up of the electricity market since privatisation in 1990. The cash is needed to build the equivalent of 20 large power stations and upgrade the grid, as a quarter of the UK’s generating capacity shuts down [...]
How to throw the world’s greatest party: opulence, charity and trust July 12, 2011 SOME people just don’t know how to retire. It’s three years since he stepped down as deputy chairman at Man Group, but Stanley Fink – Lord Fink since this January – shows no signs of slowing down. In 2008, the “godfather” of the hedge fund industry announced that he wanted to devote more time to [...]
Huhne Bill to spark higher energy costs July 10, 2011 CHRIS Huhne, the energy secretary, is set to reveal the most radical reforms of Britain’s electricity market for two decades, in a move that will see household bills further increased in the coming years. The government will publish a white paper tomorrow designed to give utility companies the £110bn financial incentives needed to invest in [...]