BBC Three gets axe in new cuts March 5, 2014 BBC THREE will be axed from TV, as £100m cuts at the broadcaster relegate the channel to an onlineonly service. An official announcement today will confirm the decision, pending approval from the BBC Trust, which governs the corporation. BBC director general Lord Hall said in October that he would not shut down a channel. Programmes [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 06 March 2014 March 5, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Church defends hedge fund plan The man responsible for the Church of England’s £6bn endowment has defended plans to increase its investment in hedge funds, arguing that not all of the industry has “devil’s horns”. Andreas Whittam Smith, first church estates commissioner, told the Financial Times that the Church’s own ethical watchdog sanctioned [...]
Bank of England suspends staff over FX inquiry March 5, 2014 THE FOREIGN exchange manipulation probe hit the Bank of England yesterday as it suspended an official following an internal probe. The Bank ramped up its own investigations, with the Oversight Committee of its Court of Directors launching an inquiry. And MPs said they will grill top Bank staff on the inquiry next week. The Bank said it has [...]
Centrica’s chief warns UK will import 70pc of its gas by 2020 March 5, 2014 THE UK’s reliance on gas imports will rise to 70 per cent by 2020, the chief executive of big six energy firm Centrica warned yesterday. “Political uncertainty is the enemy of investment,” Sam Laidlaw told an energy conference in Texas. “As a result, investment in new UK generating capacity has virtually ground to a halt.” [...]
Gold investor launches legal case over market manipulation claims March 5, 2014 AN AMERICAN investor has launched a law suit against five banks accused of manipulating prices in the gold market. It is alleged that traders sought to artificially adjust the London gold price. The benchmark is considered particularly useful as gold is typically traded over the counter, in bilateral trades rather than through an exchange which determines [...]
Shares hurt as StanChart fears more volatility March 5, 2014 STANDARD Chartered’s share price dropped yesterday after the bank revealed its first fall in profits after a decade of record earnings. The bank was hit by volatility in emerging markets, where its business is focused, and warned more uncertainty could be on the way. But investors did approve of the bank’s strong capital position, and shares [...]
Bottom Line: Tripped by stumbling emerging markets March 5, 2014 THIS was never going to be pretty. Standard Chartered’s shares have trended down since March last year. A $667m fine from US regulators in 2012 for sanctions-busting didn’t help, but the real problem was the cooling of emerging market euphoria. As developed markets stumbled in a punchdrunk, post-crisis haze, investors searched their atlases for more [...]
Ministry of Justice on hunt for new firm for tagging contract March 5, 2014 THE MINISTRY of Justice yesterday said it is searching for a new firm to take on part of its prisoner tagging contract, after talks with preferred bidder Buddi fell through. FTSE 100 outsourcing firms Serco and G4S were stripped of the contract last year after allegations of fraud. It was then split into four parts, [...]
L&G boss urges more building work for Britain March 5, 2014 FINANCIAL services giant Legal & General has called for politicians to do more for British people, particularly outside of London, by encouraging investment in housing and big infrastructure projects. The pension and insurance firm, which yesterday posted a 10 per cent rise in pre-tax profits, more than doubled its investments in housing and other UK [...]
Analyst Views: Were you impressed by Legal & General’s results? March 5, 2014 NEIL SHAH | EDISON INVESTMENT RESEARCHWhile CEO Nigel Wilson warns of the remaining macro economic uncertainty as the ‘monetary methodone’ of QE is withdrawn, L&G investors can take heart that its business is producing cash from its own operations to maintain its financial and share price momentum. BARRIE CORNES | PANMURE GORDONL&G has reported solid [...]