FCA bans and fines trader £663k for manipulating gilt price during QE March 20, 2014 Mark Stevenson, a bond trader with almost 30 years’ experience, has been banned from the industry and fined £662,700 for deliberately manipulating a UK government bond – gilt – on 10 October 2011. Stevenson has a holding worth £1.2bn, which he intended to sell to the Bank of England for an artificially high price during [...]
William Hill ups hit from Budget as shares carry on sliding March 20, 2014 William Hill’s revised up how big the hit it’ll take from the increase in tax on its fixed-odds betting terminals will be – to £22m. In a document entitled “Clarification re Budget”, the bookmaker explains its original figure of £16m, put forward in response to George Osborne’s Budget announcement that machine games duty (MGD) would [...]
EU deal reached on banking union March 20, 2014 EU negotiators have agreed a deal to create a new agency to monitor the health of banks operating in the Eurozone, reports Reuters. The agency will close banks that are too weak to survive and a fund will also be set up to help cover costs, according to the draft agreement. All-night talks ended an [...]
Resolution shares continue sliding as insurer says annuities will remain important March 20, 2014 Resolution, the UK insurer, has warned this morning that the radical proposals made by chancellor George Osborne in the Budget yesterday will have a “far-reaching” impact, with the implications taking “time to be fully understood”. Despite the negative implication for new business, however, the firm’s confident annuities will continue to be an important product. And [...]
Mulberry chief Guillon quits March 20, 2014 Bruno Guillon, the chief executive of fashion house Mulberry, has resigned “with immediate effect”. The store, which issued a profit warning in January, seeing shares plummet 25 per cent, will now be looking for a new leader. Godfrey Davis, who is a current non-executive chairman and has previously been chief executive, will hold the reins [...]
What you need to know before the open March 20, 2014 Following a broadly favourable Budget yesterday, then something of a curveball from Janet Yellen – her suggestions about the course of interest rates unsettling markets, European bourses are expected lower today, tracking Asian and US counterparts. Markets sold off sharply on talk that the Fed could raise rates by the spring of next year, and [...]
Next overtakes M&S as CEO delivers economic warning March 20, 2014 High street fashion store next had, in its own words, a great year last year. In a landmark moment, it's overtaken Marks and Spencer as the biggest clothes retailer by profits in the UK. It's upped its sales growth forecast significantly – from between one and four per cent to between four and eight per cent. [...]
The pensions revolution March 19, 2014 City stunned as chancellor unveils greatest overhaul of savings for a generation A SWEEPING reform of the UK’s pension system that will revolutionise the way Britons save for retirement was cheered by campaigners yesterday, despite investors wiping billions of pounds off the value of the pension industry over fears that profits could be hit. The changes, [...]
Budget at a glance: Osborne’s plans for Britain’s economy March 19, 2014 As growth bounces back, the focus turns to reforming savings THE ECONOMY UK growth for this year is now expected to be 2.7 per cent, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said yesterday – up from its previous estimate, made in December, of 2.4 per cent GDP expansion. A year ago the OBR expected growth [...]
Yellen says Fed may raise rates by spring 2015 March 19, 2014 THE Federal Reserve will probably end its massive bond-buying programme this coming autumn, and could start to raise interest rates around six months later, Fed chair Janet Yellen said yesterday. US stocks fell after the statement with the Dow closing 0.7 per cent lower at 16,222.17. The Fed had pledged not to raise rates until [...]