May 8 (Reuters) – Bahamas Petroleum Company’s
shares climbed 40 percent after Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham,
who said last month he would not approve any drilling for oil if
re-elected, conceded defeat in Bahamas’ general election.

Prime Minister-elect Perry Christie has close ties with
Bahamas Petroleum, Ingraham had earlier alleged. But Christie
denied any links to the company.

By Abhishek Takle and Brenton Cordeiro

(Reuters) – African Minerals (AMIq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surprised the market on Tuesday when it said chief executive Alan Watling intended to retire after just three years at the helm, following completion of an early stage in its key Sierra Leone iron ore project.

News of Watling’s planned retirement hit shares in the miner, the largest of West Africa’s emerging iron ore producers, as analysts fretted over the consequences of his departure before the mine hits its production rate of 20 million metric tonnes (22.05 million tons) per year of iron ore, expected by the year-end.

April 23 (Reuters) – Rail and bus operator Stagecoach Group
Plc’s positive forecast indicated that it was likely to
fare better than rivals including FirstGroup, allaying
fears that it would be hit by government cutbacks and economic
weakness.

Stagecoach, which transports 2.5 million passengers a day,
said all its units would at least maintain their level of
profitability for financial year 2013.

By Brenton Cordeiro

(Reuters) – Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPCB.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sought to reassure investors on Monday that its drilling permits would be renewed, after local media reports last week raised fears they might not.

“Bahamas Petroleum Company believes it has significantly exceeded all license commitments and obligations with cumulative expenditure in excess of $50 million,” the Bahamas-focused oil firm said in a statement on Monday

April 12 (Reuters) – Specialty chemicals maker Cytec
Industries Inc said it made an offer valued at about
$439 million for British aerospace parts supplier Umeco Plc
, in an attempt to build on its advanced composites
businesses.

The offer of 550 pence ($8.75) per Umeco share represents a
premium of about 46 percent to Umeco stock’s closing price on
Wednesday. Umeco shares rose as much as 48 percent on Thursday.

March 27 (Reuters) – Afren said its full-year
profit nearly tripled, benefiting from a key oil field in
Nigeria, and all eyes are now on the British oil firm’s field in
Kurdistan that is expected to start production in August.

The Barda Rash field in Kurdistan in Iraq, in which Afren
acquired a 60 percent interest last year, should produce 10,000
to 15,000 barrels per day by the end of the year, Chief
Executive Osman Shahenshah told Reuters.

LONDON/BANGALORE, March 26 (Reuters) – BG Group’s
major gas discovery in Tanzania brings it a step closer to
bankrolling a two-train liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant
along the prolific east African coastline, promising billions
more worth of investments and raising hopes of the area’s export
potential.

The proximity of east Africa’s second biggest economy to
Asia makes it well positioned to reap the benefits of surging
fuel import demand in Japan, China and India, enticing investors
to fund export projects.

LONDON/BANGALORE, March 20 (Reuters) – Gem Diamonds
said it would focus on its growth projects to boost production
after pulling out of the race for BHP Billiton’s EKATI mine as
it reported a strong start to 2012.

The miner, which more than tripled its attributable profit
in 2011 and beat market expectations, was among the suitors
considering the Canadian EKATI mine earmarked for potential sale
by BHP last year. A deal could have edged London-listed
Gem closer to FTSE 250-listed Petra Diamonds or even
leapfroged its rival, in a sector dominated by giants De Beers
and Russia’s Alrosa.

March 1 (Reuters) – North Sea-focused oil and gas
explorer Ithaca Energy Inc said it had received
unsolicited interest from several parties, which analysts
estimate could result in a deal valued at about C$868 million.

The company’s board would hold discussions with the
interested parties, Ithaca said in a statement, but added that
the discussions were still at a preliminary stage.

By Brenton Cordeiro

(Reuters) – British online gaming firm Sportingbet Plc (SBT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a first-half loss hurt by a drop in sports betting in its European segment, but said its third quarter had started well.

The company, which operates in three segments — sports betting, casino gaming and poker — said pretax loss for the first-half ended January 31 was 7.2 million pounds, compared with a profit before tax of 19.6 million pounds a year ago.