BP Plc shares enjoy period of stability around 400p mark |
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| Economy | |
| Written by Roberta Murray | |
| Wednesday, 21 July 2010 | |
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Morning Business News, Wednesday 21 July: BP Plc, Ocado flotation, EasyJet feud, BAE Systems and aviation industry recovery.
BP Plc (LON:BP) shares have opened higher in London this morning as they continue to enjoy a period of stability firmly anchored around the 400p a share level. Small amounts of oil and gas were detected near the well at the weekend. However, retired Coast Guard Amiral Thad Allen said on Monday evening that the seepage was “inconsequential” and that pressure inside the well was slowly rising, a positive sign that BP would not need to reopen it and discharge more oil, the Telegraph reports. BP Plc has also announced plans to raise an estimated $8.7bn from asset sales, bringing the embattled oil group close to its initial target of raising $10bn from disposals to help pay for the cost of its huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the cash will come from a $7bn deal with Apache, the US independent oil and gas company, which is buying onshore gas assets in the US, Canada and Egypt, the FT reports. Ocado flotationThe owners of Ocado have been forced to slash its share price by 20% to get its ambitious flotation away. The online grocer’s advisers, led by Goldman Sachs, repriced the offer at the eleventh hour last night in the face of wilting investor appetite, cutting Ocado’s potential value from £1.1 bin to £720m if the shares are priced at 180p. The price range, which had been set at between 200p and 275p, was cut last night to between 180p and 200p, the Times reports. EasyJet PlcEasyJet Plc (LON:EZJ) founder Sir Stelios HajiIoannou has raised hostilities with the budget airline to a new level by threatening to withdraw its right to use the brand. Lawyers for easyGroup, Sir Stelios’s private holding company, which owns the “easy” brand and licences it, have written to easyJet threatening to withdraw its permission to use the name unless the company improves its performance by October 17, the Times reports. BAE SystemsBAE Systems, Britain's biggest defence company, is expected to announce an order from India for Hawk trainer aircraft worth around £500m in the coming weeks. Negotiations for the contract for between 50 and 60 aircraft are well advanced, and an announcement could come in the next fortnight. BAE declined to comment on the expected deal, other than to say it was "confident that the company will get a contract soon," the Telegraph reports. Aviation recoveryThe aviation industry showed clear signs of recovery from recession with another slew of orders at the biennial Farnborough International Air Show in Hampshire yesterday. The British no-frills carrier Flybe joined the list of major buyers as it placed a $1.3bn (£853m) order for 35 Embraer 175 aircraft from the Brazilian maker. Boeing said it had agreed its second big order this week to supply Air Lease Corporation (ALC) with 54 next-generation Boeing 737-800s, the Independent reports.
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