London Report: HSBC drops yet FTSE closes in on an all-time high February 24, 2014 GAINS at Vodafone and business supplies distributor Bunzl enabled Britain’s top equity index to rise yesterday for the seventh straight session. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up by 0.4 per cent, or 27.80 points, at 6,865.86 points – just 1.2 per cent below its December 1999 record level of 6,950.60. Vodafone and Bunzl together [...]
New York Report: US stocks rise with indexes near to records February 24, 2014 US STOCKS rose yesterday and the S&P 500 hit a record intraday high, helped by gains in health insurers’ shares and optimism about merger activity. The Nasdaq reached a 14-year high, though all three indexes closed off their highs for the day, with the S&P 500 finishing less than a point away from its record [...]
Here’s how a market in organs could clear kidney waiting lists February 24, 2014 Scotland has just seen the successful example of a kidney pairing scheme that allowed Sue Heathcote, 55, to receive a transplant. The scheme involves swapping kidneys between one incompatible donor and recipient and another mismatched pair. Sue had been unable to find a match until she registered for the scheme. "We did not get a [...]
Rangers puts its iconic Edmiston House on the line February 24, 2014 Car parks and derelict buildings in Glasgow are not the obvious things that spring to mind when considering potential investment opportunities for Isle of Man-registered hedge funds. Yet Laxey Partners, the $2bn activist investor, this morning announced that it has insured a £1m loan to Scottish football giant Glasgow Rangers against land and buildings around [...]
7 UK retail bosses that have quit unexpectedly February 24, 2014 Mothercare’s future on the UK high street looked promising when Simon Calver, the former head of online movie rental service Lovefilm, was appointed by chairman Alan Parker two years ago to lead its turnaround efforts. The board banked on his online experience to overhaul its estate and turn the chain into a multi-channel retailer. But [...]
Carl Ichan just tore into EBay with an open letter February 24, 2014 Activist investor Carl Icahn has just put out a new letter, and his target is EBay, which he accuses as having "multiple lapses in corporate governance." Icahn says that he has "recently accumulated a significant position in EBay" as "there is great long-term value in the business." But things aren't all that rosy at the [...]
What you need to know before the US open February 24, 2014 With the week set to get progressively busier, a quieter monday will no doubt see investors look towards the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine. Ousted President Viktor Yanukovich is now wanted for the mass murder of protestors. And Ukraine has said it needs $35bn in foreign aid over the next two years in order to keep [...]
5 British people who have been fired and still succeeded February 24, 2014 Our commiserations go out to Piers Morgan as we hear the British presenter, and his controversial views on gun-control, have been axed from CNN’s prime time slot following a slide in viewing figures. It may be a tad embarrassing but getting the old heave ho from a role certainly doesn’t spell disaster for anyone. [...]
The US government could learn a lot from this guy February 24, 2014 News that a man tried to use a trillion dollar note to pay a restaurant bill should be taken very seriously in Washington DC. Michael Williams, 53, tried to pay for a meal using a trillion dollar bill last week after his debit card was declined, according to The State. Police were called to the [...]
The technology that’ll rival solar-powered electricity February 24, 2014 Competition could be coming to solar-powered fuel, with new and inexpensive materials nearing the market. Research published last week in the journal Science has provided the latest boost to the promise of solar-power hydrogen fuel, which could offer power vehicles at a fraction of the cost currently needed. Kyoung-Shin Choi, the chemistry professor who led [...]