Bonus cap row as HSBC profit rise disappoints February 24, 2014 HSBC’S shares tumbled yesterday as soaring profits fell short of investors’ high expectations. And the row over bank bonuses intensified as the lender confirmed it is paying staff new allowances in a bid to get around the EU’s bonus cap. The bonus pool increased 6.3 per cent to $13.9bn for the year, with 239 staff [...]
Canary Wharf Crossrail building to launch before station opens February 24, 2014 CANARY Wharf’s new Crossrail building is set to open next year – three years before the station starts operating. Plans for the six-storey building were released yesterday, with glimpses of the semi-open plan balcony for waterside diners. The first firms to occupy the Foster + Partners-designed development include the Everyman Cinema, a Sports Bar and [...]
Troika back in Greece for talks on latest funds February 24, 2014 GREECE’S three international lenders were in Athens once again today, as disagreement over the country’s next tranche of financial aid bubbles under the surface. A long-delayed report into the country’s financial system from the Bank of Greece is a major part of the disagreement, with disputes over how much more new capital the banks need [...]
Euro prices fall at record pace during January February 24, 2014 CONSUMER prices in the Eurozone fell at the fastest pace ever recorded in a single month between December and January, though official statistics showed the annual growth rate holding steady at 0.8 per cent. The consumer price index (CPI) is far below the European Central Bank (ECB) target of just below two per cent. Though [...]
Italian senators approve new PM Renzi February 24, 2014 ITALIAN senators approved new Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s government by a margin of 169 to 139 late last night. The 39-year-old has never been elected to parliament, instead serving as mayor of Florence. He is promising to shake up the way the government operates, making it easier for a single party to rule. He also [...]
D’Aloisio brings Summly-based Yahoo app to UK February 24, 2014 NICK D’Aloisio, the 18-year-old who sold his Summly app to Yahoo last year for $30m (£18m), yesterday launched Yahoo News Digest for the UK. News Digest, described by D’Aloisio as providing a “definitive summary of all the need-to-know news”, is designed to curate and summarise the top news stories of the day from multiple sources [...]
Nokia abandons Windows for Android weeks before takeover February 24, 2014 NOKIA has launched a range of low-cost smartphones powered by Google’s Android platform just weeks before its handset division is acquired by Microsoft. The Nokia X smartphone line up, revealed yesterday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, has ditched Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform and instead uses Google’s free Android software. The moves means it [...]
Samsung offers better camera with Galaxy S5 February 24, 2014 SAMSUNG last night unveiled its latest flagship Galaxy smartphone, a phone that Samsung hopes will help it fend off competition from Apple and Sony. The Galaxy S5, which will be available in April, includes a slightly bigger screen than its predecessor, at 5.1 inches against five inches, improved camera technology and better protection against water [...]
Essar directors shun investor’s offer as too low February 24, 2014 ESSAR Energy’s independent directors have rejected a plan from the firm’s biggest investor to take the company private, saying the 70p offer price “clearly undervalues the company and its prospects”. The board members with no links to the Ruia family’s Essar Global Fund (EGF) unanimously shunned the proposal yesterday. EGF owns 78.02 per cent of [...]
Game’s landlords win key case on rent owed by collapsed firms February 24, 2014 COLLAPSED retailers must pay to use their shops even if the rent bill was due before they failed, the Court of Appeal said yesterday, marking a major change to the way retail administrations are handled. Landlords for Game Group, which filed for administration the day after its quarterly rent was due in March 2012, are [...]