Utilities performing well February 1, 2011 Northumbrian Water Group said trading in the second half had been in line with estimates, putting it on track for a “sound” performance for the year to March 2011. Scottish & Southern Energy meanwhile said that its household customers used more gas in the last 10 months, and that it expected profits to be in [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 30, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES KPMG HIRES NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS FOR NEW OVERSIGHT BODY KPMG Europe has hired three non-executive directors to sit on a new oversight body in a move that highlights the differing ways big audit firms are complying with regulatory changes in the UK. The directors are: Sir Steve Robson, a retired senior civil servant at [...]
It pays to be picky, even with defensive trades September 13, 2010 WITH markets forecast to slow in the next six months, traders are eyeing traditional defensive stocks as an alternative to other low-risk assets. Government bond yields are now at historic lows, prompting many investors to turn to higher-dividend-yielding utilities shares – but it pays to be fussy, even in a supposedly “safe” asset class. At [...]
New wave of M&A has profit potential for spread betters August 1, 2010 IT HAS been a veritable whirlwind of good old-fashioned company matchmaking of late and especially so here in Britain, thanks to the sharp depreciation in sterling. In May, UK manufacturer Chloride was snapped up by its American rival Emerson. More recently, International Power revived merger talks with French energy firm GDF Suez, household goods group [...]
New wave of M&A has profit potential for spread betters August 1, 2010 IT HAS been a veritable whirlwind of good old-fashioned company matchmaking of late and especially so here in Britain, thanks to the sharp depreciation in sterling. In May, UK manufacturer Chloride was snapped up by its American rival Emerson. More recently, International Power revived merger talks with French energy firm GDF Suez, household goods group [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 16, 2010 CHÁVEZ ATTACKS ECONOMIC CRITICS Hugo Chávez has strongly defended his economic record as president of Venezuela after a turbulent year in which the country has been rocked by recession and 30 per cent inflation. Chávez used an interview to assail his critics in the US and Europe, saying the performance of the Venezuelan economy contrasted favourably [...]
Northumbrian raises its dividend as profits surge June 2, 2010 NORTHUMBRIAN Water Group increased pre-tax profits by 11 per cent to £170.2m last year, after raising prices by three per cent to offset higher costs and bad debt, it announced yesterday. The utilities group, which supplies water to 4.4m customers in Northumbria, Essex and Suffolk, also moved into post-tax profit despite the temporary closure of [...]
BP’s fall takes fuel out of oil stocks but FTSE rises higher February 2, 2010 Britain’s top shares closed higher for the third straight session yesterday as miners and banks extended the previous day’s gains but BP dragged energy stocks lower with fourth-quarter results that missed expectations. The FTSE 100 was up 35.90 points, or 0.7 per cent at 5,283.31, after closing 1.1 per cent higher on Monday. Miners added [...]
Takeover talk pumps life into water company share prices February 1, 2010 INVESTOR interest in water companies was in full flow yesterday after it emerged that utility group Northumbrian Water could become the target of a £1.7bn takeover bid. Shares in Northumbrian and rivals United Utilities, Severn Trent and Pennon rose on speculation that Canadian pension fund Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, which owns about 27 per cent [...]
Happy Monday for financials as US data lift big cap shares February 1, 2010 Britain’s top share index closed 1.1 per cent higher yesterday, helped by upbeat US manufacturing data, with banks and commodity stocks topping the list of gainers. The FTSE 100 closed up 58.89 points at 5,247.41, having dipped to 5,163.57 earlier in the session. The index ended 0.8 per cent higher on Friday. Experts said the [...]