Rockhopper merges with Falkland Oil and Gas in a £57m deal to better face “challenging” oil and gas market November 24, 2015 Rockhopper, the AIM listed oil and gas exploration company operating in the Falkland Islands, is to merge with Falklands Oil and Gas in a £57m deal. Shareholders in exploration outfit Falklands Oil and Gas, will receive 0.2993 Rockhopper shares for each of theirs, valuing Falklands Oil and Gas stock at 10.70p a share, an 11 per cent premium to its [...]
CBI Distributive Trades Survey: Mild weather hits retail sales growth in November ahead of shopping bonanza November 24, 2015 Retail sales growth unexpectedly slowed in the year to November, for what's now the second month in a row, however shop owners are bracing for a shopping bonanza ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas period. The balance of CBI's quarterly distributive trades survey unexpectedly dropped to +7, from +19 in October, marking the slowest growth rate in [...]
Glencore cuts 4,300 jobs at its Zambia copper mining unit November 24, 2015 Glencore has reportedly slashed 4,300 jobs at one of its mines in Zambia, as part of the commodties miner and trader drive to weather the global commodities rout. In a letter dated October 21, the London-listed company said it's still losing millions of dollars and must take action to ensure its long term viability. "The company started [...]
IFO survey: German business confidence reaches 17-month high November 24, 2015 German business confidence has hit its highest level for 17 months, despite the ongoing emissions scandal that has rocked the country's car manufacturing industry. The business climate index for German industry and trade released by research group IFO rose to 109 points in November from 108.2 points in October. "The German economy remains unaffected by growing [...]
UK house prices: This is how long you have to sell your house before estate agents lose interest November 24, 2015 Here's another reason to get your ducks in a row before hitting the market with your property. The process might be an arduous one, but the people helping you sell your home apparently have a very short attention span. A new survey suggests estate agents lose interest after just two weeks if a property hasn't received [...]
Apple Pay launch date: Mobile payment service to land in China in February 2016 November 24, 2015 Tech giant Apple's eponymous mobile payment service, Apple Pay, is reportedly coming to China in early February, further capitalising on the boom in mobile and contactless payments among consumers. The company has agreed deals recently with China's big four state-run banks, according to a report by the WSJ. It didn't say how much Apple would charge for [...]
Glencore, BHP Billiton, Anglo American: Failing to plan for climate change could cost mining companies $10 billion November 24, 2015 Mining companies who fail to adequately prepare for climate change could collectively face costs of $10bn (£6.6bn), or 15 per cent of their earnings, if a carbon price is introduced, according to a new report. The report by environmental NGO CDP, analysing metal and mining companies with a total market capitalisation of $329bn, said the companies accounted for about [...]
FTSE 100 index opens down on Kingfisher, Pearson and tourism November 24, 2015 The FTSE 100 opened down this morning, led lower by airline stocks, InterContinental Hotels and Pearson. The UK's top blue-chip index was 0.63 per cent down at 6,265 points as the market opened. Read more: Rolls-Royce revs up for restructure InterContinental Hotels Group and International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) also suffered losses, with the former falling [...]
Shaftesbury continues to be buoyed by London’s West End property market November 24, 2015 London's residential property market might be cooling, but the commercial sector is showing no signs of slowing down with landlord Shaftesbury reporting strong growth for the full year. The figures Shaftesbury's net asset value per share rose 21.9 per cent to £8.69 in the year to September 30, up from £7.13 a year earlier. Earnings at the [...]
Banking on beds pays off for Ikea UK as annual sales rise to £1.6bn and market share grows to 7.7 per cent November 24, 2015 Retailer Ikea has remained popular on British shores, with Ikea UK today revealing annual sales of £1.6bn for the financial year ended 31 August 2015, up 11 per cent. “We are delighted to have achieved double digit growth for the second year running and to be in our fourth consecutive year of growth here in [...]