NHS will face annual shortfall of £30bn without major services overhaul, health officials say October 23, 2014 The NHS needs extra cash and an overhaul of its services if it is to avoid a £30bn annual shortfall over the next five years, according to senior health officials. In a five year plan unveiled today, they said the next parliament would have to adopt measures such as introducing hospital services to GP [...]
Tesco’s credit ratings downgraded by two agencies October 23, 2014 Credit agencies Fitch and Moody's have downgraded Tesco's rating – with the latter saying it could be dropped further to junk status depending on the outcome of the ongoing investigation into its accounting practices. Moody's has dropped the rating on Tesco from Baa2 to Baa3, while Fitch has dropped it from BBB to BBB-. [...]
What businesses will Tesco sell after ruling out a rights issue to raise cash? October 23, 2014 Tesco may be in dire straits, but a rights issue was ruled out by chief executive Dave Lewis this afternoon. Rather, the team will look “to extract value” from the business, most likely by selling off some of its non-core business assets. The supermarket sells much more than just groceries after embarking upon a rapid [...]
Hailo taxi app unveils new features and teams up with futurologists October 23, 2014 Taxi app Hailo has teamed up with futurologists to give an insight into the future of cities as well as launching two new features. The new features are intended to help Hailo adapt to an increasingly competitive taxi market and avoid another inglorious exit from a major market. Pay Hailo lets the user connect to [...]
Islamic banking UK: Islamic Bank of Britain re-branded to Al Rayan Bank as number of non-Muslim investors grows October 23, 2014 The Islamic Bank of Britain has unveiled plans to change its name to Al Rayan Bank, as it aims to increase its presence in London and acquire a wider range of customers. It will also update its logo and all other aspects of its brand identity across its website and UK branches. As long [...]
Tesco boss Dave Lewis in video interview says “We’ve got to be a little bit disappointed” October 23, 2014 Tesco boss Dave Lewis has taken to YouTube to talk about the supermarket’s troubles after posting a 91.9 per cent drop in profits and a £263m profit understatement. “We’ve got to be a little bit disappointed," said Lewis, erring towards an understatement rather than overstatement this time. “It’s fair to say it’s been a challenging [...]
In charts: Eurozone debt grows to 92.7 per cent of GDP October 23, 2014 Figures released by the European statistics authority today show government debt in the Eurozone grew to 92.7 per cent of GDP in the second quarter of 2014, a jump of 0.8 percentage points. In the European Union the level rose to 87 per cent of GDP, a rise of 1.9 percentage points. So how much [...]
Occupy Central: Disgruntled banker crashes video interview with Hong Kong protesters October 23, 2014 Protesters striving for a more democratic Hong Kong continue to occupy the city’s streets in their droves, yet not everyone in town is behind the movement known as “Occupy Central”. A senior J.P. Morgan Chase banker crashed a live interview with Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters to express his frustration with the occupation of [...]
Tesco share price falls again: Chairman Sir Richard Broadbent steps down as profit overstatement is bigger than thought October 23, 2014 Shares in Tesco closed down 6.6 per cent in early afternoon trading, after the supermarket posted first-half results showing statutory profit before tax, which includes one-off items, collapsed by 91.9 per cent to £122m in the 26 weeks ended 23 August 2014. Sir Richard Broadbent, Tesco's chairman, announced he will step down, while the embattled [...]
Quiz: How well do you know your Tesco catastrophes? October 23, 2014 Has Tesco hit rock-bottom? The supermarket's chairman, Sir Richard Broadbent, announced his departure this morning on the back of first-half results showing the profit "overestimation" it had originally thought £250m, but £263m. The news sent Tesco shares down by a surprisingly muted 5.6 per cent in early afternoon trading, although analysts didn't mince their words when [...]