Bank of America pushed into the red by legal bills April 16, 2014 SURPRISE legal bills pushed Bank of America Merrill Lynch (Baml) to a $276m (£164.3m) loss in the first three months of the year, the lender said yesterday. Revenues fell 2.7 per cent to $22.6bn, compared with the same period a year ago, while expenses increased 14 per cent to $22.2bn. But the main blow came from [...]
Credit Suisse joins banks hit by slump in fixed income revenues April 16, 2014 PROFITS slumped at Credit Suisse in the first quarter as the bank revealed weak investment banking results yesterday. It follows the industry trend of falling bond trading revenues – a sector hit by falling prices and tougher regulations. Credit Suisse’s pre-tax income fell 34 per cent on the year to SFr859m (£580m). Net revenues fell [...]
Paul Flowers charged over drug claims April 16, 2014 THE CO-OP Bank’s ex-chairman Paul Flowers was yesterday charged with possession of class A and C drugs. Flowers was chair of the bank until last summer, when a £1.5bn capital hole was discovered in its finances. In the Autumn a Mail on Sunday article alleged that he had been using illegal narcotics, including crystal meth. West [...]
Starbucks will move European base to London April 16, 2014 STARBUCKS’ chief executive described London as the “perfect place to grow our European business”, as the coffee giant announced plans to move its regional headquarters from the Netherlands to London by the end of 2014. “Today, our largest and fastest growing European market is the UK. As the coffee industry has grown, the UK and [...]
Sky teaming up with Twitter for tweet-powered TV recording April 16, 2014 SKY IS partnering up with Twitter to embed buttons into its tweets that allow Sky customers to watch or record shows all without leaving their Twitter timelines. The so-called #WatchOnSky service will initially run on Sky’s @SkyHD and @SkyAtlantic Twitter accounts, marking the first time a UK broadcaster has used the technology. For example, when [...]
Fresh bribery claims hit Glaxo April 16, 2014 UK-BASED pharmaceuticals giant Glaxosmithkline has been hit by another set of allegations over bribery, admitting yesterday that it is investigating the actions of some staff in Lebanon and Jordan. “We are investigating allegations regarding the activity of a small number of individuals in our operations in Jordan and Lebanon,” it said in a statement yesterday. [...]
Bitcoin platform Mt Gox to close April 16, 2014 THE STRICKEN Bitcoin exchange Mt Gox is to be dismantled after Japanese authorities rejected its plan to revive the business. Two months after Mt Gox filed for bankruptcy, a Tokyo court turned down its request to start civil rehabilitation, and instead ordered the cryptocurrency company into administration. Mark Karpeles, the head of the exchange, said [...]
Finland’s Metso rejects Weir’s takeover offer April 16, 2014 FINNISH rock-crushing firm Metso rejected rival engineering company Weir’s takeover offer yesterday, on the grounds that it “is not in the best interest of Metso shareholders”. FTSE 100-listed Weir said it “continues to believe that there is a compelling strategic rationale for bringing the two companies together” but said that there is no certainty it [...]
Deposits shrink as mortgages expand again April 16, 2014 HOME buyers are paying the smallest deposits for five years thanks to the return of high loan to value mortgages, research released today suggests. The average mortgage’s loan to value was 71.8 per cent in March, up from 70.7 per cent a year ago, and the highest ratio recorded since records began in March 2009. [...]
Burberry defies fears over Asia with sales jump April 16, 2014 BURBERRY once again defied fears yesterday of a slowdown in demand for luxury goods in China after shoppers in the country helped drive a 19 per cent rise in group half-year sales. The handbag and trenchcoat-maker reported total revenues of £1.2bn and retail sales up 13 per cent to £928m, thanks to double-digit growth in [...]