Bank of England fires back at Europe’s bid to stamp on bonuses October 16, 2014 Bankers need bonuses to create incentives to behave well, and the EU’s efforts to stamp them out are harming this goal, the Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey said last night. Stepping up the prudential regulation authority’s campaign against the bonus cap, Bailey argued that the cap was a “bad policy”. He told the City of [...]
Investment revenues up 50pc in Goldman’s third-quarter cheer October 16, 2014 INVESTMENT banking revenues rocketed at Goldman Sachs in the third quarter, sending profits up by 50 per cent, according to financial results published yesterday. Net earnings for common shareholders came in at $2.14bn (£1.3bn) for the quarter, up 50 per cent on the $1.4bn a year earlier. Revenues increased 25 per cent to $8.4bn, while [...]
Warren Buffet sells down Tesco stake October 16, 2014 WARREN Buffett, the world’s third richest man, has sold 245m shares in Tesco, just weeks after describing his investment in the troubled retailer as a “huge mistake”. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which first invested in Tesco in 2006, has reduced its stake from 3.6 per cent to below the three per cent limit at which investors [...]
Entu fully booked for IPO: “We’re very profitable and we’ve got a lot of cash” – CEO Ian Blackhurst October 16, 2014 Good companies find backers even in soured markets Energy efficiency and home improvement group Entu is set to float on London’s Alternative Investment Market later this month in a rare fully subscribed debut, valuing the business at £65.6m. Entu, which emerged out of the common ownership of three holding companies HI Sales, JWD [...]
Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis supports Premier League overseas talks October 16, 2014 Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has welcomed the Premier League’s renewed consideration of controversial plans to take competitive matches between England’s top football teams overseas. Leading clubs are once again exploring the possibility of international expansion, having been encouraged by the league’s ever-increasing global popularity and the successful transplanting to London of American basketball and [...]
Man Group chief Manny Roman wary of volatile markets but funds flow for now October 16, 2014 Man Group boss Manny Roman struck a downbeat note yesterday in the wake of this week’s market fall despite his firm reporting a fifth consecutive quarter of net inflows. “We haven’t seen a Treasury market like this in 16 years,” he said. “It should give everyone in the financial industry some pause in terms of [...]
Blackstone bolsters its earnings after superfund starts to pay out October 16, 2014 WALL STREET titan Blackstone yesterday disappointed investors despite profits rising by nearly a fifth during the quarter. The listed private equity group, which also has a substantial property arm, said economic net income (ENI) – a common measure of profit in the industry – rose 18 per cent to $758m (£471m) for the quarter ending [...]
Queen visits tower of London poppy memorial October 16, 2014 QUEEN Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh have paid tribute to British and colonial soldiers who died in World War One at a Tower of London art installation featuring 888,246 ceramic poppies. The Queen laid a wreath at the Blood Swept Lands And Seas Of Red exhibit, where each poppy represents a British and colonial death [...]
Digital services send BSkyB’s profits soaring October 16, 2014 PAY TV broadcaster BSkyB reported a solid start to its financial year yesterday as revenues, profits and subscribers rose in the first quarter, prompted by sales of add-ons such as Sky Go. Sky increased its revenue by six per cent to £1.9bn for the three months to 30 September, with adjusted profit up nearly 13 [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of BSkyb’s first quarter financial results? October 16, 2014 STEVE LIECHTI | INVESTEC First quarter figures are good, with better profit growth than we expected and confident overall trading comment. We remain neutral/mildly negative given competitive pressures in UK pay TV and some uncertainty over how the new Sky Europe plays out, particularly in Italy. PAUL RICHARDS | NUMIS The operational highlight was the [...]