Essar posts 10 percent loss as FTSE 100 down
Indian refiner and power generator Essar Energy on Monday said core earnings had fallen by 10 percent in 2011 due to weaker refining margins and the depreciation of the Rupee in the latter part of the year. Full year earnings before EBITDA stood at $624.8m compared with $696.5 the year before. Shares in Essar are […]
Spain unemployment leads to Telefonica profit fall
Spain’s largest phone company, Telefonica, announced on Friday that its full year operating profit had decreased to €20.2bn from €25.8bn year-on-year. Net profits were down to €5.4bn from €10.1bn in 2010. The fall was caused by lower domestic revenue and costs of cutting jobs amid rising unemployment, which saw customers switch to cheaper rivals, Telefonica […]
BP and Anadarko found liable for US oil spill damages
A Chicago court found on Wednesday that BP and its minority partner Anadarko Petroleum will be liable under federal pollution laws for civil damages and their roles in the Macondo 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The New Orleans judge ruled that the companies are liable under the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution […]
Walmex quarter profits up 26 percent
Mexico’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart de Mexico or Walmex, late on Monday announced a 26 percent rise in fourth quarter profits to MXN$8.23bn compared to MEX$6.54bn during the final quarter of 2010. Results were achieved through an aggressive expansion and a major holiday sales event in the last months of 2011. Revenues according to retailer climbed […]
Vista commences takeover battle with Tenemos over Misys
US buyout firm Vista Equity Partners announced late on Monday that it has made an approach to buy British banking software company Misys. Although no price was mentioned analysts value the deal at an estimated £1.2bn or 360p a share. Vista’s move comes just two weeks after Misys confirmed that it was approached by Swiss-based […]
Crude at nine month high after Iran halts supply
Oil prices on Monday climbed to a nine month high, close to $105 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after Iran’s oil ministry said late on Sunday that it had halted crude exports to both France and Britain. The move comes in retaliation to the EU’s imposed sanctions on Iran’s fuel exports, which […]
Rio bosses axe bonus on aluminium loss
Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto said on Thursday that its top executives will not take a bonus this year following an $8.8bn hit on its aluminium business Alcan. The mining giant reported a 50 percent drop in annual net profits to $5.8bn compared to $14.32 the year before. Rio CEO Tom Albanese took full responsibility and […]
UBS joins Deutsche in 76 percent net profit loss
Switzerland’s biggest lender by assets, UBS AG, announced on Tuesday a 76 percent fall year-on-year in net profits for the fourth quarter of 2011 in the wake of its $2bn rogue trading scandal last year. Figures fell to SFr393m for the quarter compared to a SFR1.66bn a year earlier, and were below analyst’s average estimates […]
Chinese bars its airlines from paying EU carbon tax
The Chinese government on Monday announced it has prohibited state-owned airlines from paying EU-imposed charges on carbon emissions. The move by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which is the globe’s fastest growing aviation market, is said to trigger a dispute about the cost of combating climate change. Fitch warned in December that this clash […]
Swiss bank Wegelin charged with tax evasion
The US Justice Department late on Thursday announced it had filed criminal charges against Wegelin & Co, Switzerland’s oldest private bank, for purportedly helping wealthy US citizens evade taxes between 2002 and 2011. It is alleged that the 271 year old bank conspired together with US taxpayers and other parties to conceal $1.2bn in secret […]
