Total mourns loss of chief exec Christophe de Margerie in plane crash tragedy October 21, 2014 French oil company Total yesterday confirmed the death of its chairman and chief executive Christophe de Margerie “with deep regret and great sadness”. De Margerie, 63, was killed at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow on Monday night, when the private plane he was on collided with a snow plough. Three crew members on the plane also [...]
Jaguar Land Rover opens new Chinese factory in bid to expand October 21, 2014 Jaguar Land Rover opened its first overseas factory yesterday, with the inauguration of the Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company plant in Changshu, just north of Shanghai. The Range Rover Evoque will be the first model built at the plant, which was created through a 10.9bn renminbi (£1.1bn) joint investment plan with Chinese company Chery [...]
Petra Diamonds may pay dividend early as profits jump October 21, 2014 Petra Diamonds yesterday announced that it was looking at paying a dividend in 2015 instead of 2016 as previously stated, after posting positive full-year results for 2014. The diamond miner reported a 20 per cent jump in revenue for the year ended June 2014, up to $478.1m (£296.3m) from $392.5m, while profit before tax was [...]
New West Ham stadium roof problems may have forced Balfour Beatty to seek more cash October 20, 2014 Problems with the new roof planned for the West Ham stadium may have led beleaguered construction company Balfour Beatty back to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to ask for extra cash. A spokesman for LLDC, which was established in 2012 by the Greater London Authority to regenerate the area in and around the Olympic [...]
Shire-AbbVie takeover off as James Bowling quits October 20, 2014 Shire last night confirmed its $54bn (£32bn) deal with AbbVie was off, with a $1.635bn break fee owed. In a statement, the Dublin-based pharmaceuticals company said: “In light of the AbbVie Board’s decision to change its recommendation and to advise its shareholders to vote against its Offer, Shire believes that there is now no realistic [...]
Now Shire loses finance chief after deal fails October 20, 2014 SHIRE’S chief financial officer (CFO) James Bowling is leaving the company at the end of the first quarter of 2015 to take up the top finance role at water company Severn Trent, replacing retiring CFO Mike McKeon. Flemming Ornskov, Shire’s chief executive, said: “James has helped build and lead a high-quality finance team at Shire. [...]
GoCompare bites back after The Big Deal’s claims that price comparison websites are hiding cheapest deals October 20, 2014 Price comparison website GoCompare has hit back at energy site The Big Deal’s claims that “all the major price comparison websites” are hiding the cheapest deals from customers. The Big Deal conducted research on Compare the Market, Confused, GoCompare, MoneySupermarket and uSwitch, and has called on the government to take action over its findings. The company [...]
Somalian firms come to London to raise profile at Somalia Oil & Gas Summit October 20, 2014 Oil and gas exploration firms from Somalia will be trying to generate further interest in the region at the second Somalia Oil & Gas Summit, which starts in London today. Robert Sheppard, chief executive of the event’s lead sponsor Soma Oil & Gas, told City A.M.: “This is a great opportunity to highlight that the [...]
Sierra Leone’s finance minister Kaifala Marah joins London Mining sale talks October 20, 2014 Sierra Leone’s finance minister, Kaifala Marah, flew in to London this weekend to join talks concerning the potential sale of London Mining’s Marampa iron ore mine. The company was forced to appoint administrators from PwC last week and is now in discussions with Timis Corporation and Indian firm JSW, which are both interested in buying [...]
Solar fields are no longer cash cow for farmers as government scraps subsidies October 19, 2014 State subsidies for solar farms are to be cut, in a move the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs claims will save up to £2m of taxpayers’ money. The change, which will come into effect from January, will mean that farmers who choose to use fields for solar panels will not be eligible for [...]