Petrofac lifts its profits by 33pc in 2009 March 8, 2010 PETROFAC, the oil and gas services company, recorded a net profit of $353.6m (£234.7m) in 2009 on Monday, up from $265m the year before. A particularly strong performance from the engineering and construction business meant the results beat market expectations, which ranged from $273m to $346m. Goldman Sachs said: “net profit was five per cent [...]
China’s Mr Private Equity explains the new frontier’s hopes and risks October 17, 2010 VICTOR ZHIKAI Gao is staying at the Langham Hotel, down the road from the Chinese Embassy. Just off a plane from Beijing, and sipping green tea to stay ahead of his jet lag, he is in London to brief an investment bank on China’s rapidly developing private equity sector. Although jaded, he manages to be [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 26, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES GOLD SALES AT EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANKS DRAW TO HALT Europe’s central banks have all but halted sales of their gold reserves, ending a run of large disposals each year for more than a decade. The central banks of the eurozone plus Sweden and Switzerland are bound by the Central Bank Gold Agreement, which [...]
Vedanta buys into Cairn’s Indian oil firm August 16, 2010 MINING group Vedanta said it will take a majority stake in oil firm Cairn’s Indian operations yesterday, in a cash deal worth up to $9.6bn (£6.1bn). The London-listed miner ended weeks of speculation and confirmed it would take control of the second largest oil firm in the country, Cairn India, by purchasing between 51 and [...]
Chi-X moves up European equities market rankings February 10, 2010 CHI-X Europe became the third-largest European equities market by value traded in January, leading exchanges such as Deutsche Boerse for the first time. Trading levels for European equities on the electronic order book of the London-based platform, known as a multilateral trading facility, were valued at €109bn (£96bn) during January, according to figures released yesterday [...]
PANTHER BOSS ON A TRIP INTO NOSTALGIA April 26, 2010 ANDREW Perloff, the eccentric chairman of property firm Panther Securities, has something of a cult following among City investors due to his penchant for using company results statements as an excuse to reminisce at length about life’s little quirks. But yesterday’s final results announcement was a corker even by Perloff’s own standards, ranging from fervent [...]
Investec buys up remainder of Rensburg March 30, 2010 SOUTH African bank Investec yesterday said it will stump up a hefty premium to acquire the remainder of Rensburg Sheppards, the fund manager in which it already holds a 47 per cent stake. Investec, which merged its private-client stockbroking business Carr Sheppards Crosthwaite with Rensburg in 2005, will pay 1.63 new shares of its own [...]
Alternative exchanges give traders an edge March 8, 2010 ANOTHER shake-up of London’s trading landscape is underway after the London Stock Exchange (LSE) announced on Monday that it would sell 9 per cent of Turquoise, its European trading facility, to three investment banks. Barclays, JP Morgan Cazenove and Nomura each bought a 3 per cent stake of Turquoise for £1m. The multiple owners of [...]
Growth in China on the cards at Boots November 7, 2010 HIGH STREET health and beauty retailer Boots hopes to make headway in China when its executive chairman travels to the country as part of David Cameron’s first official visit as Prime Minister. Stefano Pessina has reportedly organised talks with potential partners in Beijing and Shanghai while he is in the country, as part of a [...]
Blanc goes bland in the Square Mile April 19, 2010 Brasserie Blanc 60 Threadneedle Street, EC2R 8HP Tel: 020 7710 9441 Cost per person without wine: £26 IT has the name Raymond Blanc attached, but don’t be thinking Brasserie Blanc has anything to do with the French celebrity chef’s haute cuisine flagship, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire. Brasserie Blanc is a chain of [...]