Qatar makes £1.6bn bid for Canary Wharf owner Songbird November 6, 2014 Qatar wants to buy up Canary Wharf in a £1.6bn deal, showing the oil rich state’s determined interest in snapping up vast chunks of valuable and iconic London property. The deal would be one of the biggest property sales ever in the UK, and will extend Qatar’s reach over London landmarks, which already includes the [...]
Euro at two-year low after hint of early Xmas present November 6, 2014 THE EURO fell to a two-year low and stocks were buoyed yesterday after European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi signalled that quantitative easing could soon become a reality. “The Governing Council has tasked ECB staff and the relevant committees with ensuring the timely preparation of further measures to be implemented,” Draghi said during his [...]
George Osborne heads to Brussels to argue against £1.7bn EU bill November 6, 2014 George Osborne is today expected to argue that the UK will not accept an instalment deal to pay the £1.7bn bill Brussels has demanded in full over the course of 2015, after a spokesman for the Prime Minister said that this would be “unacceptable”. The chancellor has been sent to negotiate a reduction in the [...]
CBI chief calls for stimulus to save Eurozone November 6, 2014 THE HEAD of Britain’s most powerful business group has urged the Eurozone to stimulate its economy with full quantitative easing, warning that the single currency’s problems could knock the UK recovery off track. Speaking to City A.M., CBI boss John Cridland said that German fiscal stimulus and French labour market reforms were needed to turn [...]
Big banks hurt by competition investigation November 6, 2014 INVESTORS fled the big banks’ shares yesterday as a major new investigation threatened to break them up or impose significant new costs. But small lenders cheered the probe as a chance to end the dominance of the giant high street banks. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating the personal current account and the [...]
Bank advisers left red-faced by collapse in OW Bunker share price November 6, 2014 One of Denmark’s biggest ever flotations crashed more than 50 per cent below its issue price yesterday, raising more questions for banks serving up a spate of under- performing IPOs this year. Danish marine fuel company OW Bunker, which issued shares at 145 kroner in March, might declare bankruptcy after a scandal at its [...]
Senior Labour figures play down Miliband plot but jitters remain November 6, 2014 SENIOR Labour figures last night played down claims that a number of its MPs want leader Ed Miliband to step down, despite a clutch of anonymous sources claiming the party was on the brink of collapse. One of Miliband’s closest advisers, Lord Stewart Wood, told City A.M. that he was yet to hear anyone call [...]
Exclusive: CMC Markets plans more growth before IPO November 6, 2014 Online trading firm CMC Markets could float this time next year if the group grows as planned, chief executive Peter Cruddas told City A.M. yesterday. “I expect we can triple in size in the next five to seven years. I would be disappointed if we didn’t,” he said. “We are looking at a flotation, but there [...]
Sports Direct owner Ashley puts money on Debenhams success November 6, 2014 THE FOUNDER of Sports Direct, Mike Ashley, has sold his 4.6 per cent stake in Debenhams and entered into a put option worth 6.1 per cent. The deal was conducted through Sports Direct, and required the business to dispose of the Debenhams stake that it built upon last month, adding a further £33m worth of [...]
John Lewis ad tops 3m views November 6, 2014 JOHN Lewis is on track to capture the hearts, imaginations, and hopefully Christmas spending, of the UK once again with its festive ad that has hit 3m views on YouTube in just 24 hours. The ad has seen the success ahead of its TV debut on Channel 4 tonight. “What sets the John Lewis advert [...]