The power plant boss who is busy trying to clean up her firm’s act December 16, 2009 T he best way to describe the chief executive of Drax power station Dorothy Thompson is to say that she is poised – a quality that will undoubtedly come in handy when it comes to navigating a path through energy markets beset with low demand and ever more onerous climate change targets. When one meets [...]
Where the smart money should be heading next year December 16, 2009 AT THE start of 2009, there was a very real chance that we would enter another Great Depression and the banking system was still on its knees. But the past 12 months have been an astonishing year in the markets – stock market indices have risen sharply beyond all expectations and major countries returned to [...]
Inflation continues to accelerate, fuelled by bumper energy prices December 15, 2009 INFLATION accelerated in November to a six-month high of 1.9 per cent as higher energy costs fuelled price rises and pushed the rate closer to the Bank of England’s two per cent target. The retail prices index (RPI), on which many wage negotiations are based, moved back into positive territory for the first time since [...]
NEWS | IN BRIEF December 14, 2009 London Array in £2bn cash boost Germany’s E.ON, Denmark’s state-owned group DONG Energy and Masdar said yesterday they had signed contracts worth nearly €2bn (£1.3bn) for work on London Array’s offshore wind project. Masdar is an Abu Dhabi green energy investment firm. The companies said work for first phase of the project would start early [...]
BT may hike rivals’ bills to cut its pension deficit December 1, 2009 THE telecoms regulator may allow BT to charge its rivals more for using its broadband and telephone lines to help it cut its £9.4bn pension deficit. Ofcom said it would consult on whether to take into account BT’s payments to cut its deficit when setting prices for its wholesale arm Openreach. Charges to firms such [...]
M&B toasts a dining uplift November 26, 2009 PUBS group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday said it was optimistic about Christmas trading as it switched to a food focus to compensate for slower drinks revenue. The group said that it has recently introduced its “winter menu” to take advantage of the rise in consumer confidence, which has sparked people to splash out on good [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 23, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index ended sharply higher yesterday, snapping a four-day losing streak, with commodity and banking stocks rallying after comments by a senior US Federal Reserve official. The FTSE 100 index finished up 104.09 points, or 2 per cent, at 5,355.50 and recorded its biggest one-day percentage rise in more than six weeks. The [...]
Hike in commodity costs hits miners and energy stocks November 19, 2009 Britain’s top share index fell 1.4 per cent yesterday as sagging commodity prices dented miners and energy stocks, while reduced risk appetite hurt banks. The FTSE 100 ended down 74.43 points at 5267.70, its biggest daily fall for three weeks, after closing 0.1 per cent lower on Wednesday. Miners were the biggest drag on the [...]
British Airways and Iberia merger sends FTSE soaring November 12, 2009 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 hit its highest close in three weeks yesterday as British Airways soared with investors cheered as a merger with Iberia looked imminent, while gains were also powered by strength in banks. But the rise was limited by falls in commodity prices hitting miners and energy stocks, which together constitute a third of [...]
ON THE MEND (OR SO KING HOPES) November 11, 2009 THE BANK of England hiked its growth forecasts for the next three years yesterday in its clearest signal yet that it believes the UKeconomy is finally on the mend. The Bank’s new central projections are for output to grow by 2.1 per cent next year and by four per cent in 2011, based on market [...]