Iron miner BHP cuts costs as it builds capacity October 6, 2014 MINING company BHP Billiton is aiming to cut costs while increasing capacity at its Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) operation, the group announced yesterday. BHP iron ore president Jimmy Wilson told investors at a tour of the WAIO site that the firm planned to cut unit costs by “at least 25 per cent” to $20 [...]
Dragon Oil proposal lights fire under Petroceltic share prices October 6, 2014 DRAGON Oil has proposed an offer of 230p per share for Irish oil and gas exploration company Petroceltic, which confirmed yesterday that it was in “detailed discussions” concerning a deal. Petroceltic’s share price soared by over 22 per cent following the announcement, which valued the company at £492m, while Dragon Oil’s fell by 1.5 per [...]
BP goes on the front foot in US court battle October 5, 2014 OIL FIRM BP is to go on the offensive against a court ruling that it had been “grossly negligent” and “reckless” in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill case. BP has applied to the Eastern District of Louisiana court for either a new trial or a revised judgment. The oil giant has alleged that [...]
Plymouth pairs with Ovo in new energy launch October 5, 2014 THE FIRST joint venture between Ovo Energy and a local council was announced at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Glasgow yesterday, where it was revealed that Plymouth City Council had partnered with Ovo to form Plymouth Energy Community. The company was formed as part of Ovo’s scheme aimed at turning groups such as local [...]
US oil firm eyes sale of UK asset while Brent price falls continue October 5, 2014 OIL AND gas operator Apache is looking at withdrawing from its North Sea fields and either selling them off as an individual asset or spinning its entire international business into a new company. Steve Farris, the company’s chairman, chief executive and president, said: “Apache continues to evaluate the separation of its international business through capital [...]
Balfour Beatty share price falls despite sale of Pinderfields and Pontefract Hospital stake October 2, 2014 Balfour Beatty’s £61.5m sale of its stake in Pinderfields and Pontefract Hospital will not be enough to buoy shareholder confidence following the firm’s profit warning on Monday, analysts have said. The company disposed of its 50 per cent interest in the public-private partnership (PPP) yesterday, selling to an HCIL subsidiary, and also announced three new [...]
Brent crude oil price drops to two-year low October 2, 2014 BRENT crude oil fell to a two-year low yesterday, dropping 1.2 per cent to $92.93 a barrel, with analysts blaming a lack of demand for the decline. Daniel Sugarman, market strategist at ETX Capital, said any turnaround in the market would depend on the political situation in the Middle East. He told City A.M.: “Islamists are [...]
Bottom Line: A shift at Tesco could change the whole market December 2, 2013 TESCO wasn’t the only supermarket moving downwards yesterday. As shares in the UK’s biggest grocer continued their downward trend, fellow retailers Sainsbury’s and Morrisons dipped in sympathy – despite the former recently topping profit forecasts and outshining its competitors. So why all the discontent in the aisles? HSBC’s note on Tesco yesterday, in which it [...]
Boris Johnson’s deputy Kit Malthouse slams support for electric cars October 1, 2014 Boris Johnson’s deputy Kit Malthouse is battling against fellow politicians to drive hydrogen as the clean fuel source of the future, describing battery-powered vehicles as “a temporary technology”. Speaking at Canaccord Genuity’s Hydrogen – The New Energy Landscape conference in London yesterday, Malthouse, deputy mayor for business and enterprise, told attendees that uptake of hydrogen-fuelled [...]
Regulator slaps £10,000 fine on Ageas for phantom phone calls October 1, 2014 OFCOM has handed a £10,000 fine to Ageas Retail for making abandoned calls to its UK customers. The watchdog found that the insurer made 148 of these calls, where consumers answer the phone to find there is no one on the line, on three separate days within a seven-week period. A spokeswoman for Ageas said the [...]