RBS pays bosses £3.5m in allowances, not bonuses August 12, 2014 Ten top executives at RBS were awarded £3.5m in fixed allowances yesterday, the first payout under the new system which has replaced bonuses at the bank. Executive pay at RBS, which is 81 per cent owned by the UK government, remains under heavy public scrutiny, with taxpayers sitting on a loss of nearly £15bn after [...]
Brussels blamed for driving up energy prices for UK factories August 12, 2014 European regulation has driven up the cost of energy to British companies, and the country’s manufacturing firms are less positive about current EU membership than previously suggested, according to a report released this morning. Research by Business for Britain, which advocates a renegotiated relationship with the EU, the single market’s regulations have driven up the [...]
Humanitarian convoy sparks war of words August 12, 2014 Tension between Russia and Ukraine flared up yesterday after officials in Kiev declared that a Moscow-sponsored convoy carrying humanitarian aid to rebels in the east would be stopped at the border. Western leaders expressed fears that convoy of 280 lorries could be a “trojan horse”, and the first step in a full-scale Russian invasion. The [...]
King Digital share price crashes as Candy Crush maker is hit by poor quarter results August 12, 2014 Candy Crush maker King Digital entertainment yesterday announced poor second-quarter revenue, sending its share price crashing by 21 per cent in after-hours trading. This was the UK-based, but New York-listed company’s second quarterly report as a public company since its IPO in late March. Revenue in the three months ended in June rose to $593.5m (£353m), [...]
Rapidly strengthening US job market could feed into wages August 12, 2014 AMERICAN businesses advertised more job vacancies this June than in any month for more than 13 years, according to figures released yesterday. This is the latest in a growing pile of data, which make the country’s economic outlook seem increasingly solid. Firms advertised 4.67m openings two months ago, the most at any point since February [...]
Ex-Lloyds chairman Sir Win Bischoff hired by JP Morgan August 12, 2014 City veteran Sir Win Bischoff was yesterday hired as chairman of JP Morgan Securities, to oversee the giant US bank’s main corporate and investment banking operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He takes up the post in January 2015, replacing Tom Hoppe.
Ladbrokes’ online bet is a profits loser August 12, 2014 BOOKMAKER Ladbrokes yesterday posted a 49.7 per cent slump in profit during the first half of the year to 30 June after disruption hurt its online profits due to the switch to a new software developer. Britain’s second-biggest bookie after William Hill has struggled to establish its online presence and an alliance with software developer [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of Ladbrokes’ performance during the first half of 2014? August 12, 2014 PATRICK COFFEY | BARCLAYS While the Digital performance is likely to excite the bulls, we believe these results throw up many questions which are central to the debate. Marketing as a percentage of revenue was 31 per cent in the first half. A key debate is how this marketing spend progresses and how much re-investment [...]
Just Eat profits sizzle in maiden results as mobile orders soar August 12, 2014 SHARES in the world’s largest online takeaway service, Just Eat, rocketed yesterday after it reported an almost 200 per cent jump in half-year profit as the business expanded in Britain and Denmark, its two biggest markets. Just Eat, which joined the London stock market in April, added more restaurants to its network and benefited from [...]
Volution has its fans in new building surge August 12, 2014 A UK engineering firm backed by the Prime Minister reaped the benefits of an increase in housebuilding last year to bolster sales by nearly a fifth. Volution Group, which makes ventilation equipment for new houses, made £121m in revenue for the year ending July – an 18.2 per cent increase – thanks to acquisitions and [...]