Berlin bans Uber citing passenger safety rules August 14, 2014 THE BATTLE between smartphone car service Uber and city regulators heated up yesterday after the German capital turned against the San Francisco startup and banned the mini cab app on safety grounds. In a press release, the Berlin State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs said Uber risked passenger safety through the use of “unverified [...]
Visitors to UK shelling out but British tourists spending less August 14, 2014 British tourists are spending less and less money when they travel abroad, while people travelling to the UK are boosting the amount they shell out here, according to official figures released yesterday. Although the number of people travelling out of the UK climbed by five per cent during the first six months of the year, [...]
The Silver Fix, a City staple since the Victorian era, bids farewell August 14, 2014 The London Silver Fix, the method used to set the price of the “devil’s metal”, which has been an integral part of London’s precious metals’ market – worth nearly a £1 trillion, is ending today after 117 years. Under the current system, three banks, HSBC, Bank of Nova Scotia and Deutsche Bank, arrange silver’s [...]
Electra dips in third quarter August 14, 2014 ELECTRA, the listed private equity group, yesterday said the total value of its investments declined slightly in the third quarter. The group, which is currently fighting off advances by activist investor Ed Bramson, said the diluted net asset per share declined 0.1 per cent for the three months ending June to 2,910p. The value of [...]
Chancellor’s annuity changes return to haunt Partnership August 14, 2014 INSURER Partnership showed the scars of George Osborne’s annuity overhaul yesterday, after revealing a 43 per cent drop in sales of the product. Individual annuity sales between January and June dropped to £334m from £590m in the same period last year, leading operating profits down 44 per cent to £33m. The FTSE 250 offers so-called [...]
SSE calls for one national cost to deliver energy August 14, 2014 ENERGY giant SSE yesterday called for a shake-up of electricity transportation costs that could result in higher bills for some customers. The FTSE 100-quoted firm said it planned to examine “whether the different regional costs of transporting electricity could be passed on to suppliers as one national charge”. The cost of delivering electricity to different [...]
Centamin announces first ever dividend as earnings decline August 14, 2014 EGYPT-FOCUSED gold miner Centamin yesterday announced its first dividend of 0.87 cents per share, as it unveiled weaker-than-expected second-quarter results. The FTSE 250 firm said earnings had halved to $32.6m (£19.5m) in the second quarter compared to the same period the previous year, as it mined lower grade ore at its flagship Sukari mine in [...]
Shell pockets £1.26bn for US shale gas fields August 14, 2014 ROYAL Dutch Shell yesterday said it had sold two US shale gas assets in exchange for $2.1bn (£1.26bn) and additional acreage, as the oil and gas major sought to restructure its North American portfolio. FTSE 100-listed Shell has sold its Haynesville asset in Louisiana for $1.2bn to Vine Oil and Gas, a recently formed exploration and [...]
Npower blames government and costs increase for 38pc profit fall August 14, 2014 BIG SIX energy supplier Npower yesterday posted a 38 per cent slump in first-half profit to £176m, which it blamed on increased customer service costs and government levies. The company, which is owned by German power giant RWE, lost more than 62,000 domestic customers during the first half of the year, after various surveys found [...]
Ophir launches £60m buyback to return cash to shareholders August 14, 2014 OPHIR Energy’s share price soared over six per cent yesterday, after the oil explorer unveiled a $100m (£59.9m) share buyback programme to return cash to investors. The FTSE 250-listed firm has seen its market value halve since the start of the year, due to a string of disappointing exploration results. Ophir swung back into profit [...]