Top City grandees and politicians come out against London Stock Exchange merger February 23, 2017 Forty top eurosceptics from the worlds of business and politics have come out against the London Stock Exchange's proposed £21bn mega-merger with Deutsche Boerse, calling for the deal to be blocked until after Brexit negotiations. They say the deal, which is currently being evaluated by the European Commission, is a risk the government should "not be [...]
Ministers set to face spending watchdog scrutiny over Green Investment Bank sale February 23, 2017 Government ministers are in the glare of Whitehall spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) as the Green Investment Bank privatisation drags on, City A.M. has learned. With Australian investment bank Macquarie hopeful of clinching a deal soon, the government sale has come under intense scrutiny from politicians in recent weeks. MPs, led by the Green Party’s [...]
Storm Doris has closed down a section of Leadenhall Market February 23, 2017 Storm Doris continues to cause disruption across London, and the latest site affected is City hotspot Leadenhall Market. Parts of the historic site have been closed off "as a precautionary measure" as the storm continues to rattle windows all over the capital. Read More: Gale force winds from Storm Doris set to wreak havoc on Southern [...]
Barclays boss Jes Staley spills the beans on Dodd-Frank, Brexit and robots February 23, 2017 Barclays boss Jes Staley was in a chatty mood today – perhaps unsurprising given his bank just announced it had nearly tripled its yearly profits. However, it wasn't just bottom lines and capital ratios the banking chief executive spoke about, as he shared his words of wisdom on a slew of other issues weighing on the [...]
Investors are preparing to inject more cash into the private equity industry this year February 23, 2017 Investors are planning to increase investments into the private equity this year, meaning further growth in the industry, new research out today found. Some 44 per cent of limited partners (LPs) surveyed by Rede Partners said they intend to deploy more capital this year than in 2016, a record year for fundraising volumes, while 11 per [...]
Pulling the plug: Howden forced to increase prices for its kitchenware February 23, 2017 Kitchenware supplier Howden Joinery Group's share price closed down 0.52 per cent today after the company posted strong profit growth, but said it had been forced to increase its product prices. The figures Group revenue rose from £1.22bn in 2015 to £1.3bn last year, a growth of seven per cent. Profit before tax was up [...]
Telenor to shell out in costly Indian exit after failing to deal with heightened competition February 23, 2017 Telenor is to exit the Indian market, selling its operations to Bharti Airtel in a deal that will require the Norweigian telecoms giant to put a cash injection of hundreds of millions of pounds into the Indian firm. Bharti Airtel is India's largest telecoms network operator and the consolidation is hot on the heels of news that Vodafone is in [...]
Economists react: Immigration from eastern Europe falls as net migration dips below 300,000 February 23, 2017 Immigration to the UK from countries in central and eastern Europe fell significantly in the year to September, including the period after the EU referendum, while net migration dipped below 300,000, new figures show. Emigration by nationals from the eight nations which joined the EU in 2004 tripled, according to the Office for National Statistics [...]
No more deals: Axa to decline future acquisitions after blasting through the €100bn barrier February 23, 2017 France's largest insurer Axa is big enough and is not eyeing any future transactions, especially as "Frexit is a probability", its chief executive said today. Passing the €100bn (£84bn) revenue barrier for the first time, Axa revealed in its annual results underlying growth of in earnings of four per cent to €5.7bn. Read more: Axa UK's chief [...]
This London developer will build homes on rooftops in just 45 weeks February 23, 2017 Apex Airspace, a company that uses so-called modular construction techniques to create homes on rooftops, is embarking on a £11.5m scheme together with Lambeth & Southwark Housing Association. The group will build 28 new flats on a site in Southwark, 11 of which will be affordable rental homes. Apex has also agreed to renovate the existing building [...]