UK banks in the clear after European stress tests? October 22, 2014 The European Banking Authority (EBA) is due to publish the results of its stress test on European banks on Sunday, but ahead of the official announcement a Spanish news agency has reported that 11 of the 123 banks tested have failed. Although the report, by Spanish wire EFE, did not name any of the banks [...]
UK and European migration map: Why immigration is good for the economy and immigrants aren’t stealing British jobs October 22, 2014 When outgoing European Commission president José Manuel Barroso accused David Cameron of potentially making a “historic mistake” with plans to call a referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, he may have had a point. Cameron has faced heavy criticism for his increasing focus on curbing immigration in response to Ukip’s growing [...]
Total appoints Patrick Pouyanné as new chief executive following de Margerie death October 22, 2014 Total has appointed Patrick Pouyanné as its new chief executive and Thierry Desmarest as chairman, following the death of Christophe de Margerie who had held both roles. De Margerie was killed at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow on Monday night, when the private plane he was on collided with a snow plough. Following a meeting [...]
Johnson & Johnson will begin testing its Ebola vaccine in January October 22, 2014 US drug giant Johnson & Johnson will begin human trials of its Ebola vaccine in January, it said today. The company said it will spend $200m (£124m) on speeding up its research programme, and will begin testing the drug on subjects in America, Africa and Europe early next year. Why has Ebola spread so rapidly [...]
Uber taxi app heads to Leeds as Unite union cabbies protest October 22, 2014 Uber is set to make its presence felt in the North of England with a planned launch in Leeds: the taxi app has filed an application with Leeds City Council to become a private hire operator. But even before the company had the opportunity to make its mark on Leeds transportation, a group of demonstrators [...]
Three things to look out for from Tesco’s results tomorrow – other than the numbers October 22, 2014 When Tesco publishes its first-half results tomorrow, including an update on its investigation into an expected £250m profit black hole, all eyes will be on the numbers. Initially, investors will look for the specifics of exactly how much profits were "overestimated" by, and what effect it has on the supermarket's previously reported profits and future [...]
Bank of England’s MPC still split 2-7 on interest rate rise as eurozone and China pressures take their toll October 22, 2014 Minutes of September's meeting of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) show its members have become more pessimistic about the chances of raising interest rates early, as the impact of wobbles in China and the eurozone began to be felt in the UK. Policymakers said headwinds facing the economy – such as weak [...]
Competition and Markets Authority chastises HSBC over small business loan “bundling” October 22, 2014 HSBC is one of two banks chastised by the government's new competition watchdog over the way it sells loans to small businesses. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said today it had previously warned banks over "bundling", the practice of forcing small and medium-sized firms taking out a loan with them to open business accounts, [...]
SuperGroup share price slides as former Co-op boss Euan Sutherland replaces Julian Dunkerton as chief executive October 22, 2014 The former boss of The Co-operative Group, who jumped ship from the troubled company he once called "ungovernable" in March after only 10 months in charge, has been named the new chief executive of Supergroup. Euan Sutherland will replace Julian Dunkerton, the man who founded the group’s fashion brand SuperDry, who becomes product and brand director. [...]