Bank denies Scottish independence currency union talks with John Swinney ever took place August 14, 2014 The Bank of England slapped down a Scottish minister yesterday, after he claimed talks were underway over the future of the sterling. “The Scottish government has had technical discussions with the Bank of England regarding our proposal for a currency union and we welcome their continued acknowledgement that the Bank will introduce whatever the politicians [...]
Controversial social site Ask.fm sold to Tinder owners and set for major revamp August 14, 2014 Controversial social network Ask.fm – linked to recent teenage suicides – has been bought by the owners of Tinder and Ask.com for an undisclosed fee. The new owners have pledged to “revamp” its policies. The site, where members answer questions posed by others, has been linked to deaths of young people in the UK and [...]
US unemployment claims rise but market trend strengthening August 14, 2014 US CLAIMS for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but this did little to change views that the labour market was strengthening. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 311,000 for the week ending 9 August the US Labor Department announced yesterday. Economists, who had expected claims to rise only [...]
Electrolux aiming to clean up in the States August 14, 2014 WORLD number two home appliances maker Electrolux – one of the most established brands in the market – said yesterday it was in talks to buy General Electric’s household appliances business. It is seeking to increase its foothold in North America, which is growing faster than its other main markets in Europe. GE confirmed it [...]
Zoopla: Unusually for a tech stock, this one’s looking as safe as houses – Bottom Line August 14, 2014 Being old and boring, I spent last Friday mooching around a somewhat less-than-salubrious corner of our city, looking for a flat that I could buy as an investment. I dropped into two estate agents to ask questions about the area because, back in my day, that was how one did things. The first agent was [...]
Zoopla enjoys record traffic after IPO debut August 14, 2014 ONLINE property giant Zoopla said yesterday that it saw traffic to its websites and apps jump by one-third in its first trading update since its £900m stock market float in June. The company, owner of PrimeLocation, SmartNewHomes and HomesOverseas, said it had an average of 45.5m monthly visits in the four months to 31 July, [...]
Home repossessions slide to lowest since crisis ahead of interest rate hike August 14, 2014 The lowest number of homes were repossessed in the first half of 2014 than in any six month period since 2006, according to figures released yesterday. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) yesterday showed that 11,800 homes were repossessed in the first half of the year, down from 15,600 in the first half of 2013. [...]
James Crosby-backed Moneybarn sold in £120m deal to Provident Financial August 14, 2014 Doorstep lender Provident Financial yesterday raised £120m to snap up Moneybarn, the motor insurer chaired by ex-Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) boss James Crosby. The lender, which makes loans to people with poor credit scores, generated the cash in a matter of hours after mandating JP Morgan to raise the fund. Existing shareholder Invesco bought [...]
Four million auto-enroled in pension pots August 14, 2014 ABOUT 4m Brits working for more than 21,000 businesses have been automatically enrolled into pension schemes since the system was introduced almost two years ago. The figures from the Pensions Regulator show 4.03m workers have been automatically enrolled, while another 8.6m eligible workers were already in a pension scheme. The scheme is designed to push more [...]
Balfour warns Carillion not to build on its bid August 14, 2014 BALFOUR Beatty yesterday defended its decision to reject a takeover approach from Carillion, after the rival construction firm sweetened its offer with an additional dividend. Carillion had argued that a merger – which would create a £3bn construction giant – would deliver £175m in annual cost savings. It said it had held meetings with several [...]