Tata Steel has returned to profit in its fourth quarter results February 7, 2017 India's Tata Steel reported its first profit in five quarters, beating analyst expectations for its fourth quarter. The figures The steel giant said it had a consolidated net profit of 2.32bn rupees (£27.8m) for the three months to 31 December compared with a loss of 27.48bn rupees the previous year. Analysts were estimating 1.74bn rupees [...]
Parliament offered “deal or no deal” Brexit vote before terms are considered by the European Parliament February 7, 2017 Parliament will be able to vote "deal or no deal" on the final terms of the Brexit negotiation before it is presented to members of the European Parliament, the government has conceded. MPs had been pushing for a "meaningful" ballot on the deal ever since Prime Minister Theresa May announced a vote will take place [...]
Aslef says there are “serious misunderstandings” about its deal with Southern rail February 7, 2017 Aslef has said there are "serious misunderstandings" around the deal it has agreed with Southern rail to resolve the long-running row over changes to guards' roles. Details of the deal were given to drivers over the weekend and the agreement has been described as a "shocking betrayal" by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union. The deal [...]
“Really, is that it?” – reactions to the government’s housing white paper February 7, 2017 In the year that the US President signed an executive order to build a wall, UK politicians got together to write a housing paper that was lacking in concrete ideas. There were some general indicators of where the government is going on housing, however. Here's how the property industry reacted: On the lack of content [...]
Speedy Hire on the mend: Tool rental company making “concrete progress” February 7, 2017 Tool rental company Speedy Hire demonstrated some “concrete progress” in a trading update today. The company’s shares lifted by more than six per cent when the market opened, before drifting slightly later in the day. But the update, which reported a like-for-like revenue lift of 10.6 per cent in its third quarter, to 31 December, [...]
Ramped up political and financial risks sends gold investing demand surging to its best January in five years February 7, 2017 Last month, gold investing demand had its strongest January since 2012 as financial and political risks "become reality". Gold investing demand, net of client selling, totaled 0.4 tonnes last month, data from precious metals platform BullionVault showed. This was the metal's best January in five years. Last year's full-year gold demand was also its strongest since 2012, [...]
Berenberg reports highest earnings in its 427-year history, as the bank cements its place on the investment scene February 7, 2017 Berenberg began today on a high, announcing its highest annual earnings to date in its 427-year history. The figures The world's second-oldest bank reported net profits had risen to €161m (£139m), up 56 per cent compared with €104m the year before and marking the second year in a row its bottom line has set a new record. Meanwhile, gross income grew [...]
Advisers on London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse deal could rake in up to £305m February 7, 2017 The London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse could pay up to £305m between them to bankers, lawyers, accountants and PRs working on their merger. The top-end estimate was revised up today from £234m in light of an extended probe by the European Commission into the deal. Credit Suisse analysts noted today: We believe merger related [...]
11 things we learned from Sajid Javid’s speech on the housing white paper February 7, 2017 Communities secretary Sajid Javid stood in the House of Commons today to unveil the government's long-awaited housing white paper, so what did we learn about the government's plans to fix the housing crisis? Well, not much. The speech was pretty vague. Javid said the government would be speeding up construction, encouraging institutional investment in the rental sector and [...]
Six traders from Deutsche Bank and Barclays plead not guilty to Euribor rigging February 7, 2017 Six traders pleaded not guilty to Euribor-rigging offences in a London court today, as part of the first case focusing on the Brussels-based benchmark brought by the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The traders in question are Christian Bittar, 45, a former employee of Deutsche Bank, Achim Kraemer, 52, who still works for Deutsche Bank, and four ex-Barclays [...]