EDF closes in on British Energy deal July 25, 2008 French state-owned energy firm EDF and British Gas owner Centrica are closing in on UK nuclear business British Energy, and could announce a £12bn purchase as early as next week. British Energy, led by chief executive Bill Coley, admitted yesterday “it is in advanced discussions with one party.” A source close to the deal said [...]
Oligarchs in oil grab as BP chief expelled July 25, 2008 Robert Dudley forced to leave Russia after campaign of “harassment” by authorities British oil giant BP was dealt a devastating blow last night after Robert Dudley, boss of its TNK-BP joint venture, was forced to leave Russia. Dudley, a key BP ally in its long-standing battle with its four oligarch partners, lashed out at the [...]
BP’s Russian row may hit production July 24, 2008 The dogfight between BP and its four oligarch partners could hit Russian oil production next year after the quartet demanded a $900m cut in spending at joint venture TNK-BP. The development is the latest in a long-running battle at the 50-50 venture between the British oil giant and its billionaire partners – Mikhail Fridman, Viktor [...]
Sweet start to the year by Tate & Lyle July 24, 2008 Sugar refiner and sweetener maker Tate & Lyle said yesterday it has made a satisfactory start to its financial year and was on track to achieve progress for the year as a whole. The company, which makes sucralose sweetener Splenda, said in a trading update ahead of its annual shareholder meeting that pre-tax profit in [...]
Advertising revenues dip at Daily Mail July 24, 2008 Newspaper publisher Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) yesterday warned of a sharp fall in advertising revenues in the third quarter, with property and recruitment sectors performing particularly badly. But the Daily Mail and Evening Standard owner also said that overall performance had been good, with revenue growing by 5 per cent due to strong [...]
New name for merged InBev July 24, 2008 Anheuser-Busch InBev, the newly formed company from a deal struck between the two of the world’s largest brewers 10 days ago, could be renamed AB InBev. At the start of last week, American brewer Anheuser-Busch agreed to be taken over by Stella Artois maker InBev, a deal worth £26bn and one that will create the [...]
Toyota grabs lead from GM in car market July 24, 2008 Embattled American carmaker General Motors trailed Japanese rival Toyota in global car sales during the second quarter, hurt by a severe decline in the American market, figures out yesterday revealed. The Detroit-based automaker said its car sales fell 3 per cent to 4.54m vehicles in the first half as higher sales in Europe, Asia and [...]
Designer drugs are all the rage, but do you need chemical help to get ahead? July 23, 2008 More people in the City are taking uppers and downers to help them work, rest and play Yet again this week the news has been full of stories about new wonder-drugs, and tales of successful types taking Ritalin or modafinil, drugs which are prescribed for, respectively, ADHD and Alzheimer’s. Apparently, when given to healthy people [...]
Brown hints at Iraq troop withdrawals July 23, 2008 Prime Minister Gordon Brown played up an improving security situation in Iraq yesterday and said the number of British troops there could continue to come down as key security tasks were completed. Brown told parliament the 4,100 British troops serving in Iraq would stay for the “next few months” but said he expected to see [...]
Markets drive clever traders to scalping July 22, 2008 In sentiment-driven times, CFDs offer plenty of tricks and tactics, says Katie Hope With most things in life, the better you’ve planned, the better things are likely to go for you. But any boy scout applying the trusty “be prepared” motto to his investing tactics of late is likely to have been disappointed. Shares and [...]