November 30, 2007

ENI Secures Burren Deal

Permalink: ENI Secures Burren Deal by Stewart Douglas

Energy group ENI has today announced that it has reached consensus with the board of directors of Burren Energy for a takeover approach, valued at £1.74 billion in a move that had been widely expected for a number of weeks from industry insiders after several previous failed acquisition attempts. The Italian energy group has ...

PS3 Outstrips Wii In Japanese Sales

Permalink: PS3 Outstrips Wii In Japanese Sales by Stewart Douglas

Sony's flagship games console, the PlayStation 3 has today outsold its leading rival the Nintendo Wii in Japanese sales for the last month, in a move that it is thought could spark a turn in fortunes of the world's largest consumer electronics pioneer. The games console, the result of tens of millions ...

West Texas Intermediate crude drops $2.30 per barrel

Permalink: West Texas Intermediate crude drops $2.30 per barrel by Elaine Frei

Crude oil prices were lower on the day and the week on Friday West Texas Intermediate January contracts were down $2.30 to $88.71 per barrel at the close of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nymex December contracts for gasoline were down less than 1 cent to $2.26 per gallon ...

Bernanke remarks help USD gains

Permalink: Bernanke remarks help USD gains by Elaine Frei

The US dollar was helped and the yen hurt by remarks from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, which led analysts and investors to believe another interest rate cut is in the cards. The greenback traded at $1.4700 to the euro and at $2.0579 to the pound in early afternoon in New York ...

Credit squeeze claims another casualty

Permalink: Credit squeeze claims another casualty by Kay Murchie

Investment bank, Morgan Stanley, has announced that 52-year-old Zoe Cruz is to retire. Analysts believe the move is due to the US sub-prime crisis. Earlier this month, the bank announced a $3.7 billion (£1.76 billion) loss from exposure to the US sub-prime mortgage markets. Ms Cruz was seen as one of the ...

Alliance & Leicester hurt by the credit squeeze

Permalink: Alliance & Leicester hurt by the credit squeeze by Kay Murchie

Alliance & Leicester (A&L), the former building society, has said it is struggling in the credit squeeze as it has been forced to writedown the value of a whole raft of asset-backed securities on its balance sheet by a total of £156 million so far this year. There ...

Bradford & Bingley has head-start on credit crunch

Permalink: Bradford & Bingley has head-start on credit crunch by Kay Murchie

As the global credit squeeze continues, Bradford & Bingley (B&B) has claimed that its secure finance will give it the advantage over its rivals. Chief executive, Steve Crawshaw, said Bradford & Bingley has been resilient and resourceful through the current market turmoil. The buy-to-let specialist mortgage lender added ...

November 29, 2007

Yahoo And Adobe Agree To Sell Dynamic PDF Advertising

Permalink: Yahoo And Adobe Agree To Sell Dynamic PDF Advertising by Stewart Douglas

Search engine giant Yahoo has today announced a strategic partnership with software company Adobe that will enable contextual adverts to placed within the content of the widespread PDF format, in order to provide an additional revenue stream for online publishers and a new advertising channel for its business ...

Nike Vietnam Plant In Walkout Over Pay

Permalink: Nike Vietnam Plant In Walkout Over Pay by Stewart Douglas

Sportswear giant Nike is today facing potentially embarrassing employee and public relations issues following a walkout at one of its manufacturing outsourcing factories in Vietnam over rising inflation beyond pay increases, adding further bad blood to the company's perceived negative image of exploitation and sweat shop labour. The 14,000 strong work ...

Oil prices in slight climb

Permalink: Oil prices in slight climb by Elaine Frei

After surging to $95.17 per barrel in electronic trading overnight when four pipeline that carries crude oil from Canada to the United States were closed after one of them exploded Wednesday afternoon, January contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude added 39 cents to $91.01 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange ...

Dollar strengthens on European credit concerns

Permalink: Dollar strengthens on European credit concerns by Elaine Frei

The US dollar had its biggest one-day gain versus the euro in two weeks on Thursday on concerns that the US credit crisis is spreading to Europe and that interest rates there could soon begin to fall as well as on analysts’ sentiment that the dollar’s declines this year will turn ...

Topshop embarks on US expansion

Permalink: Topshop embarks on US expansion by Kay Murchie

The British billionaire businessman, Sir Philip Green, is turning his attention to the US and has acquired a 15-year lease at 40,000 sq ft site at 478 Broadway, Manhattan, New York. Sir Philip said he is hopeful this will be the start of the American development of the Topshop/Topman brands, with ...

Tesco ordered to sell site in Slough

Permalink: Tesco ordered to sell site in Slough by Kay Murchie

The Competition Commission has ordered supermarket giant Tesco to sell the former Co-op store on Uxbridge Road in Slough, as it had reduced competition and choice in the area. The watchdog said its preferred solution was for another grocery retailer to purchase the site and develop a competing store that was ...

Profits down at Wolseley, job cuts

Permalink: Profits down at Wolseley, job cuts by Kay Murchie

Wolseley, one of the largest distributors of building equipment in the world, with strength in plumbing and heating supplies, said profits fell 12% in the previous quarter as the US property market came to a standstill. Shares in the company fell to a 4-year low and the company expects the US ...

November 28, 2007

WTI drops nearly $4 per barrel

Permalink: WTI drops nearly $4 per barrel by Elaine Frei

Crude oil prices were down substantially Wednesday on the weekly US inventories report from the Energy Information Administration. Just before floor trade closed on the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate for January delivery had dropped $3.72 to $90.70 per barrel, while January contracts for Brent crude fell $2.24 to $90.28 ...

Porsche Revenues Up On Car Sales

Permalink: Porsche Revenues Up On Car Sales by Stewart Douglas

Automobile manufacturer Porsche has today announced an increase in revenues over its last quarter to November as a result of growing sales in its core luxury car division, helping extinguish rumours that it had been trading as more of a hedge fund in recent months. The company announced today that sales over ...

DSG International Results Down

Permalink: DSG International Results Down by Stewart Douglas

Electrical retailing giant DSG International which owns and operates PC World and Currys has today announced a significant decrease in profits over the first six months of its financial year to October, off the back of slowing sales in its latop and personal computer products. The group today admitted that an overstocking problem was ...

Swiss franc, yen weaken on return to risk

Permalink: Swiss franc, yen weaken on return to risk by Elaine Frei

The yen and the Swiss franc were both weaker on Wednesday as investors returned to carry trades, gaining confidence on a rally in global equities markets. Just after noon in New York, the yen traded at ¥110.3250 to the dollar, at ¥162.9886 to the euro, at ¥228.5216 to the pound ...

Profits soar at QinetiQ

Permalink: Profits soar at QinetiQ by Kay Murchie

British defence technology company, QinetiQ Group, has announced a 34.5% increase in half-year underlying operating profit, fuelled by acquisitions and strength in the North American defence and security market. Underlying operating profits for the half-year to end of September was £46 million, up from £34.2 million 12 months ago. QinetiQ also posted strong ...

Long-running dispute ended at Royal Mail

Permalink: Long-running dispute ended at Royal Mail by Kay Murchie

Postal workers have staged strikes this summer across the country affecting mail deliveries. However, a deal has been reached with postal workers at Royal Mail on pay and conditions. The Communication Workers' Union said its members voted by 64% in favour of an agreement. A pay increase of 6.9% will now ...