US jobs data to calm nerves of policy makers October 9, 2014 THE US labour market continues to show improvement with the number of new claims for jobless benefits falling last week, coming close to its lowest level for 14 years. Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 1,000 to 287,000, according to data released yesterday by the US Department of Labor. The figures beat expectations. It was [...]
House price rise cooling October 9, 2014 FURTHER evidence has emerged that the housing market cooled down in August. The Council for Mortgage Lenders, a trade association, reported that the number of loans for house purchase fell by 3.3 per cent in August. This remains 7.9 per cent above August 2013, however.
Ex-Ofcom boss Dame Colette Bowe hired to keep tabs on bankers October 9, 2014 Dame Colette Bowe was appointed yesterday to head the new Banking Standards Review Council (BSRC), a body which aims to promote and maintain good behaviour in finance. The council was set up by former CBI chief Sir Richard Lambert, at the behest of the big banks, as an independent body to monitor behaviour in [...]
Old Mutual gets low price for its US share sale October 9, 2014 OLD MUTUAL is set to raise $308m (£190m) from the initial sale of shares in its US asset management business, more than $20m less than it had hoped to raise in the offering. The shares were priced at $14, below the $15 to $17 range it had hoped to achieve for the 22m shares on offer. The [...]
New Britain Palm Oil share price up 75pc as Sime Darby Plantation announce $1.1bn takeover bid October 9, 2014 London-listed New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL) saw its share price shoot up by almost 75 per cent yesterday after Malaysian company Sime Darby Plantation announced a £1.1bn (£682m) takeover bid. NBPOL, which opened a refinery in Liverpool in 2010, is based in Papua New Guinea. Sime Darby stated last week that it would not [...]
Apax strikes deal to take Dutch software maker Exact private October 9, 2014 Private equity firm Apax took listed Dutch software group Exact private yesterday in a €730m (£574.6m) deal. Apax has agreed to pay €32 a share in cash through a subsidiary vehicle called Eiger Acquisition to take over the group, a 27 per cent premium to the group’s undisturbed share price before Apax’s interest was revealed back [...]
Payday loans opened up to comparisons October 9, 2014 PAYDAY lenders will have to sign up to price comparison websites to increase transparency and prove they are competing fairly, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) proposed yesterday. The watchdog fears that the incoming cap on interest rates will lead to that rate being the standard across the industry, cutting competition between lenders. Lenders will [...]
Correction: Poundworld October 9, 2014 VALUE chain Poundworld was censured by the Advertising Standards Authority this week for failing to provide accurate pricing information – not Poundland, as initially reported by City A.M. on Thursday 9 October. Poundland has had no rulings made against it by the Advertising Standards Authority. We would like to apologise to Poundland for this mistake.
Yorkshire and Clydesdale pay £420m for PPI October 9, 2014 THE NATIONAL Australia Bank yesterday set aside £420m to pay for payment protection insurance (PPI) compensation claims. The owner of the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank also made a provision of £250m to cover interest rate-swap mis-selling. It also took a A$297m (£162m) impairment charge on computer systems, and a A$46m tax charge after changing its research [...]
Investcorp founder Nemir Kirdar to step down after 32 years October 9, 2014 Investcorp founder Nemir Kirdar will retire from the group next year after more than 30 years at the heart of the Bahrain-based group. “I step down satisfied that Investcorp is now firmly established as a global financial institution,” he said. Kirdar, who is executive chairman and chief executive of the firm, will retire on 30 [...]