Shortlist for northern rail franchise picked August 19, 2014 THE SHORTLIST of companies vying to run all rail services in the north of England was announced by the government yesterday. The Department for Transport said FirstGroup, Keolis and Stagecoach were being considered to run the TransPennine Express (TPE) franchise from 2016. TPE is currently run by a joint venture between FirstGroup and Keolis. The [...]
Standard Chartered fined $300m for poor money laundering controls August 19, 2014 US authorities fined British bank Standard Chartered another $300m (£180.5m) last night, for failing properly to check transactions for evidence of money laundering. The charge, from the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), comes two years after the same regulators fined the bank $340m for breaking sanctions with Iran. The DFS put monitors into the bank, [...]
Tesco-backed coffee shop chain Harris + Hoole to close six stores August 19, 2014 Harris + Hoole confirmed yesterday its decision to shut six stores, raising questions over its performance less than two years after Tesco’s investment in the coffee shop chain. The group sparked controversy last year after it emerged that Tesco owned a stake despite its independent guise. Tesco bought a stake with the view of introducing [...]
Lehman staff to get pensions August 19, 2014 THOUSANDS of former Lehman Brothers staff in London will receive their pensions in full, six year after the US bank collapsed. The remains of the lender will pay £184m under the deal, announced by the Pensions Regulator yesterday. It will benefit almost 2,500 ex-staff, who will receive an average of £5,000 each. This is the biggest [...]
EU eCig rule to be challenged August 19, 2014 TOTALLY Wicked has launched a legal challenge against the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive, which would result in e-cigarettes requiring a medicinal licence similar to nicotine patches and gums from May 2016. A hearing will take place in London on 6 October for an Administrative Court judge to determine whether the case can go to the [...]
Huge demerger as BHP Billiton spins off assets to create new mining company August 19, 2014 Global mining giant BHP Billiton yesterday confirmed it was spinning off a range of assets across five countries to create a new mining company. The major demerger will see the as-yet-unnamed NewCo take on aluminium, coal, manganese, nickel and silver assets, and will have current BHP Billiton chief financial officer Graham Kerr as its [...]
BHP Billiton demerger share price drop: Worth digging past the disappointment – Bottom Line August 19, 2014 Plans for a leaner, meaner and more profitable mining giant drew little love from investors yesterday. It was easy to see why – but that doesn’t mean the prospects for a slimmed-down BHP Billiton aren’t shiny. The air of disappointment that saw BHP’s shares fall nearly five per cent over the day was down largely [...]
Former Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer steps down as board director August 19, 2014 Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has announced he is leaving the board of the computer giant to concentrate on his new passion, the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. Ballmer wrote of his intention in a letter to Microsoft boss Satya Nadella yesterday, although the move had been widely expected for some time. “I think it [...]
Persimmon share price up as housing market demand boosts profits August 19, 2014 Persimmon became the latest housebuilder to announce another leap in profits yesterday as rosier housing market conditions helped lift sales rates and prices in the first half of the year. Britains’s largest housebuilder completed 6,408 property sales in the six months to 30 June, up 28 per cent on last year. The average selling price [...]
Analyst Views: What did you think of Persimmon’s performance in the past six months? August 19, 2014 RACHAEL APPLEGATE | PANMURE GORDON Persimmon has delivered a positive set of interim results, with units, average selling prices, margins and profits moving ahead. The group reports a continued improvement in current trade and boasts a healthy level of forward orders. We have nudged up our forecasts following this announcement. RICHARD HUNTER | [...]