PayPoint benefits from mobile foray August 12, 2010 PAYPOINT yesterday said its move into mobile phone payments had helped revenue rise seven per cent between March and July. The firm, whose services include bill payment terminals and ATM machines, made net revenue of £26m from 29 March to 25 July after its takeover of PayByPhone, which allows motorists to pay for their parking [...]
Germans quiz Credit Suisse clients on tax August 12, 2010 German authorities have asked around 1,500 German clients of Credit Suisse to provide evidence as part of a probe into whether Switzerland’s second-largest bank helped them dodge taxes. The chief prosecutor’s office in the western city of Dusseldorf said in a statement yesterday it had written to them to ask why they had deposited their [...]
TfL signs up 44,000 to use Barclays Cycle Hire August 12, 2010 LONDON’S cycle hire scheme has been used for more than 100,000 journeys since its launch on 30 July, Transport for London (TfL) said yesterday. Around 44,000 people have signed up to the hire programme, and are between them making up to 14,000 journeys per day. Around 70 extra docking stations are under construction, bringing the [...]
Aegon cash call fears grow as capital shrinks August 12, 2010 FEARS of a fresh rights issue overshadowed a consensus-beating second quarter performance from Dutch insurer Aegon yesterday, after the firm said its capital buffer had fallen. Shares in Aegon fell 3.5 per cent to €4.37 (£3.60) as the life and pensions firm said tougher requirements from ratings agency Standard & Poor’s meant its reserve capital [...]
Reposessions are still falling August 12, 2010 THE Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revised down its forecast for the number of borrowers who either fall behind in mortgage payments or lose their homes through repossession this year. The CML now expects 39,000 repossessions and 175,000 mortgages to end the year in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more, down from its [...]
TRICHET CONFIDENT ON BANK DEBT REFINANCING August 12, 2010 The massive €1.3 trillion of debt refinancing that Euro-zone banks need to carry out by the end of 2013 is manageable as long as funding markets normalise, the European Central Bank said yesterday. The ECB – headed by Jean-Claude Trichet (pictured) – said banks would have to step up their refinancing efforts in the coming [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU CUTTING BACK ON SPENDING GIVEN ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY? August 12, 2010 MARCELA KERUL-KMECOVA | ERNST & YOUNG “I’m definitely spending less and I’m trying to cut down on going out too. I’m also trying to buy a property so I’m trying to save a certain amount of money every month. I’ve been in the UK for 10 years and things have certainly changed – it’s more [...]
Eurozone industry output falls August 12, 2010 Eurozone industrial production declined in June, with output in France and Germany falling sharply, but a strong showing over the second quarter as a whole suggests Friday’s GDP data for the bloc will be robust. Output fell 0.1 per cent month-on-month, figures from Eurostat showed, and rose 8.2 per cent year-on-year, although the drop followed [...]
Australia unemployment rises August 12, 2010 Australia’s unemployment monitor recorded a surprise rise in July, making it unlikely that the central bank will raise interest rates from their current 4.5 per cent in the near future. Unemployment edged up to 5.3 per cent over the month, compared to 5.1 per cent in June.
Vedanta in talks to buy Indian oil firm August 12, 2010 VEDANTA Resources is in talks to buy part of Cairn Energy’s Indian spin-off oil firm, both companies confirmed yesterday. Vedanta is already focused on mining in India, but is keen to move into oil and gas operations in the country. Aberdeen-based Cairn, which has a 62.37 per cent stake in Mumbai-listed Cairn India, emphasised in [...]