Millions wiped off UK energy firms as Davey moots Centrica break-up February 10, 2014 A FURTHER £335m was wiped off UK energy firms yesterday, after energy secretary Ed Davey wrote to regulators to ask them to scrutinise gas supply margins, and suggested Centrica could be broken up. Investors knocked £275m off British Gas-owner Centrica, while FTSE 100 peer SSE lost close to £60m. Around £10bn has already been wiped of [...]
Vodafone waits as Ono weighs up takeover bid February 10, 2014 VODAFONE could secure a €7bn (£5.4bn) deal to buy Spain’s largest cable operator Ono as soon as today. Ono’s owners had been planning an initial public offering (IPO) this year to capitalise on a wave of investor interest in the increasingly successful cable sector. Vodafone is reported to have tabled a €7bn takeover bid – [...]
Cable & Wireless finance chief quits ahead of firm’s relocation February 10, 2014 CABLE & Wireless Communications (CWC) yesterday announced the resignation of its financial chief Tim Pennington, ahead of the company’s upcoming move to its new US headquarters in Miami. In a move described as “somewhat unexpected” to City A.M. by people close to the company, Pennington will take up another finance chief position at an as-yet-unnamed [...]
EasyJet founder to vote against McCall’s payout February 9, 2014 EASYJET’S biggest shareholder is set to vote against the £6.4m pay packet of chief executive Carolyn McCall this week, though insiders expect the overall investor vote to back the pay plans. Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who founded the company and whose family owns a 36 per cent stake, intends to reject the remuneration report at Thursday’s annual [...]
Rathbones battles the English lacrosse team in wet Hyde Park February 9, 2014 INVESTMENT managers at Rathbones had an unusually challenging afternoon on Friday, as a team from the City firm gathered in a muddy Hyde Park to take on the English lacrosse team at their own game. “There was more water than grass on the park but everyone enjoyed themselves,” Rathbones’ Chris Dean told The Capitalist. The [...]
AstraZeneca’s shares slide due to lost patents February 6, 2014 ASTRAZENECA’S share price dropped almost two per cent yesterday, after the pharmaceuticals giant warned of a decline in revenues this year. The FTSE 100-quoted firm said that 2013’s six per cent fall in revenue to $25.7bn (£15.8bn) was in line with expectations, reflecting the continuing impact of loss of exclusivity on several brands. New heart [...]
Vodafone eyes UK broadband and TV markets February 6, 2014 VODAFONE is considering a move into the UK broadband and television market, its chief executive confirmed yesterday, while its UK mobile revenue declined for the seventh consecutive quarter. When asked about Pay-TV chief executive Vittorio Colao said: “We are watching the space. Today, there’s not an urgent need to be there. It could be different [...]
Ocado co-founder Jason Gissing offloads 3m shares worth £15m February 6, 2014 OCADO’S outgoing commercial director and co-founder Jason Gissing sold shares worth £15m on the day that the online grocer announced full-year losses of £12.5m. Gissing, who announced on Tuesday that he would be leaving the company, sold just over three million shares on the same day at 498.75p each, reducing his stake by 0.52 per [...]
Beazley beats analyst forecasts thanks to fewer catastrophes February 6, 2014 BEAZLEY saw its share price jump 5.76 per cent yesterday, after it issued strong results for 2013 trading. The specialist insurer beat analysts’ expectations to issue a pre-tax profit of $313.3m (£191.9m) for last year, up 25 per cent on 2012. Chief executive Andrew Horton said: “Beazley delivered an exceptional underwriting performance in 2013, reflected [...]
Imagination shares lift as Apple extends its iPhone chip contract February 6, 2014 IMAGINATION Technologies saw its shares rocket as much as 20 per cent yesterday after it renewed a multi-year contract with Apple to supply the iPhone-maker with graphics chips for its devices. Since the beginning of 2012 Imagination’s share price has plummeted by over 75 per cent on fears that the chip maker was losing market [...]