News
UK RETAIL sales in April fell 1.3 per cent from March, with the cold weather continuing to impact businesses, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
YOUTH unemployment in parts of Greece has hit 72.5 per cent, according to Eurostat, the European Commission’s statistics office.
LLOYDS Banking Group today announced that it would not need to issue new equity to met new capital requirements.
CABLE & Wireless Communications today announced that pre-tax profits had risen to $35m (£23m) compared to $117m losses the previous year, but revenues fell four per cent.
ROLLS-ROYCE today announced that it has won a US contract to supply engines for Airbus planes.
The aerospace engineering company will supply US leasing company CIT Aerospace with engines to power 23 Airbus aircraft in total.
NATIONWIDE today announced a three per cent rise in profits, as customers choose the building society over traditional banks.
Tim Cook tells US senators the tech giant pays every dollar it owes and pushes for reform of tax system
THE STOCK market rally of 2013 stormed upwards again yesterday as London’s FTSE 100 index reached its highest level since 1999.
THE CAP on City bonuses will cover far more staff on far lower pay packages than was every previously envisaged under new plans unveiled by the European Banking Authority (EBA) yesterday.
TO say that Britain is slow on the uptake is an understatement of enormous proportions, especially when it comes to our ridiculous energy policy.
EUROPE’S financial transactions tax (FTT) faces another series of delays in today’s meeting of EU negotiators, City A.M. understands, as the states cannot decide what the charge should cover.
DAVID Cameron finally saw the House of Commons pass laws allowing gay marriage in the UK last night, even though almost half of Tory MPs blocked the proposals.
THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) will today tell the government that now is the time to sell its stakes in Lloyds and RBS, according to reports.
JP MORGAN’S chief executive and chairman Jamie Dimon last night received strong backing from shareholders, easily holding his joint position at the top of the American banking behemoth.
FIAT Industrial plans to move its tax base to Britain following a tie-up with its CNH subsidiary, in the latest sign that successive corporate tax cuts are attracting global firms.
EUROPE could face a decade of stagnation unless it makes big reforms and it should heed the lessons of Japan, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney said yesterday as he highlighted Japan’s bold moves to bolster growth.
MICROSOFT yesterday unveiled the long-awaited successor to its Xbox 360, the Xbox One, which it promised would be more than simply a games console.
SECURITY firm G4S yesterday announced that Nick Buckles, the chief executive who came under fire for the botched handling of the Olympics contract last year and a failed takeover, will step down at the end of the month.
WHEN you aim high and deliver, you’re a hero. But when you ramp up expectations only to miss them – and then do it again, and again – it’s not long until investors are calling for your head on a plate.
INFLATION rose just 2.4 per cent in the year to April on the consumer price index (CPI), defying expectations for a 2.8 per cent increase and hitting its lowest level since September 2012.
THE PRICE of houses in the UK saw modest growth of 2.7 per cent between April 2012 and April 2013, but London prices jumped by 7.6 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics.
THE EU is nearing a deal on long-delayed insurance rules that the bloc has touted as a regulatory benchmark for the world to follow, regulatory and policy officials have said.
MARKS AND SPENCER said growth this financial year would be held back by major investment in its online business as the high street bellwether posted its lowest profits for four years.
BURBERRY said rising demand for its luxury leather goods and signature raincoats in China helped the company hit annual sales of £2bn for the first time.
THE HUNT for Royal Dutch Shell’s next chief executive is underway, its chairman said yesterday, after CEO Peter Voser made what could be his last appearance at the oil group’s annual shareholder meeting.
SPECIALIST lender Paragon saw profits jump in the first half of the year as the booming housing market raises buy-to-let demand, the group announced yesterday.
REGINA AGBOTA
CALYPSO TECHNOLOGY
I’m sure they can turn it around, and I’ve heard that there is a new lady in charge. They seem to have a new approach. If they change their style, I would buy more of their clothing.”
ROYAL Mail said yesterday that its profits have surged by 60 per cent this year, as the government’s plans for a privatisation of the postal service move ahead.
EUROPEAN antitrust regulators said yesterday they will decide by 24 June whether to clear an $8.2bn (£5.4bn) takeover bid by IntercontinentalExchange for New York Stock Exchange operator NYSE Euronext.
HASTINGS Insurance Group is considering selling off a stake in the company that would value the fast-growing firm at as much as £800m.
BRITISH Land and Oxford Properties confirmed yesterday they have exchanged contracts with Lloyd’s of London insurer Amlin to pre-let 111,000 square feet at the Leadenhall Building, also known as the Cheesegrater, in the City.
VODAFONE posted its first fall in annual revenues for seven years yesterday, forcing it to hold back a £2.1bn windfall from its US venture rather than hand it to shareholders.
WAGES for company bosses are strongly related to their working performance, rising and falling with their firms, according to the Centre for Economic Performance.
LAWRENCE SUGARMAN LIBERUM CAPITAL
SHARES in cruise operator Carnival slumped yesterday after the firm issued its second profit warning in three months.
RETURNS from investments in the residential property sector are over a third higher than those in the commercial property sector, according to a report commissioned by Qatar Diar and Delancey.
THE COMPETITION watchdog yesterday warned it could force Britain’s biggest cement producers to sell off assets and widen out the market.
THE LONDON Chamber of Commerce has criticised the government’s “policy paralysis” on boosting the south east of England’s air links, as a new poll shows huge local opposition to a new runway at Heathrow.
BUDGET utility supplier Telecom Plus yesterday said its full-year profit had risen by 13 per cent as cash-conscious households flocked to the company’s services.
TWO SENIOR Federal Reserve officials yesterday played down the chances that the US central bank would signal a readiness to reduce its bond buying at its meeting next month, dampening speculation the Fed's ultra-easy monetary policy might end soon
The options for a new road crossing over the Thames were revealed yesterday, as the government asked for input from the public on the three possible sites.
Sprint Nextel raised its buyout offer for wireless service provider Clearwire to $3.40 per share yesterday under pressure from activist shareholders, but the new bid failed to impress several big investors.
China’s April refined copper imports fell 33 per cent from a year ago to hit 183,023 tonnes, data revealed yesterday, while refined copper exports rose six per cent to 29,072 tonnes. The figures saw the metal take a hit on the markets.
BRITAIN’S grocery market is becoming increasingly divided, according to new data which shows higher-end and discount retailers gaining market share while those occupying the middle ground lose out.
Morrisons, Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket, last week announced it had struck a deal with online grocery retailer Ocado, which will enable it to provide an online shopping service.
ENTERTAINMENT ONE (eOne), the firm behind the Peppa Pig children’s franchise and the Twilight and Hunger Games films, yesterday announced that it will pay its maiden dividend after posting a 25 per cent rise in annual profits.
HARRY Potter publisher Bloomsbury yesterday showed that it can survive perfectly well without the impact of its most famous titles, as it posted a 16 per cent rise in pre-tax profits.
BRITISH outsourcing firm Capita yesterday announced that it had secured a 10-year deal with telecoms company O2, expected to be worth around £1.2bn.
The contract to manage O2’s customer management services commences from 1 July.
INDUSTRY regulator Ofgem came under fire from MPs at yesterday’s select committee hearing for failing to regulate energy companies stringently enough.
