African Barrick boss opens account

African Barrick Gold's finance boss Kevin Jennings has bought shares worth a total of £74,370, opening his account a week after the company reported strong results for the second quarter. Jennings's acquisition of 15,000 shares at 495.80p is his first purchase of shares in the firm. He has been a member of the board since August 2009 and has worked in a variety of senior positions within the mining industry over the past ten years. The company, which is Tanzania's largest producer of gold, recently reported a 54% increase in its net profit for the second quarter of the year, to $69.77m (£42.8m). Revenues soared by 39% to $311.76m, while operational cash flow improved to $186m, an increase of 18% on that for the first half of 2010. African Barrick recently indicated that it retains a positive outlook on the back of strong gold prices, despite economic conditions as a whole remaining uncertain. Gold is often valued as a safe investment in volatile times. The company recently indicated that all of its operating mines have performed in line with expectations for the first half of the year and announced that it has doubled its interim dividend to 3.2 cents per share.Top Director BuysBanco Santander SA (BNC) Director name: Mr Manuel Soto SerranoAmount purchased: 40,000 @ 608.11p Value: £243,244African Barrick Gold (ABG) Director name: Mr Kevin JenningsAmount purchased: 15,000 @ 495.80p Value: £74,370Ashtead Group (AHT) Director name: Mr Geoffrey DrabbleAmount purchased: 50,000 @ 139.50p Value: £69,750Ishaan Real Estate (ISH) Director name: Mr Tim WalkerAmount purchased: 100,000 @ 50.50p Value: £50,500Ashtead Group (AHT) Director name: Mr S Ian RobsonAmount purchased: 25,000 @ 139.50p Value: £34,875Frontier Mining Ltd. (DI) (FML) Director name: Mr William D.R. EpplerAmount purchased: 500,000 @ 4.49p Value: £22,450Top Director SellsShire Plc (SHP) Director name: Mr Graham HetheringtonAmount sold: 36,575 @ 2,038.00p Value: £745,398Shire Plc (SHP) Director name: Mr Graham HetheringtonAmount sold: 18,000 @ 1,988.00p Value: £357,840Pace (PIC) Director name: Mr David McKinneyAmount sold: 135,044 @ 109.45p Value: £147,806ASOS (ASC) Director name: Mr Nicholas RobertsonAmount sold: 3,319 @ 2,225.85p Value: £73,876ASOS (ASC) Director name: Mr Jonathan Damian KamaluddinAmount sold: 3,319 @ 2,225.85p Value: £73,876