HSBC’s second largest shareholder revealed as Chinese insurance giant Ping An December 6, 2017 Chinese insurance giant Ping An today emerged as HSBC’s second-largest shareholder. A regulatory filing revealed Ping An had snapped up a chunk of shares taking it over a regulatory threshold. The insurer increased its interest in Britain’s biggest bank from 4.96 per cent to 5.01 per cent. Ping An’s £7.3bn stake makes it HSBC’s second-largest [...]
Government slammed as dysfunctional as Philip Hammond admits cabinet has had no “end state” Brexit discussions – and reveals the Spring statement date December 6, 2017 Philip Hammond has admitted there have been no specific discussions of the country’s “end state” after Brexit, drawing criticisms that the government is “breathtakingly dysfunctional”. Speaking during a Treasury select committee hearing this afternoon, the chancellor admitted that conversations had not gone beyond “general discussions”. “The cabinet has had general discussions about our Brexit negotiations, [...]
ISS urges London Stock Exchange (LSE) investors not to back Sir Christopher Hohn’s TCI motion to sack Ronald Brydon December 6, 2017 An influential shareholder advisory group is urging London Stock Exchange investors to reject calls by one of Britain’s best performing hedge funds to sack its chairman. ISS says LSE shareholders should vote against a motion to remove Donald Brydon. The vote is due to take place on 19 December at an emergency shareholder meeting brought [...]
Theresa May’s call to Arlene Foster fails to break deadlock December 6, 2017 Theresa May’s phone call with Arlene Foster has not resulted in any breakthrough on the Irish border question – as the Friday deadline imposed by Brussels looms. The Prime Minister had expected to speak to the leader of the DUP yesterday, but it was delayed until this morning. But if May was hoping to secure [...]
British Airways chief executive Alex Cruz says it always will be “a premium airline” as he plots tech push to fight off competition December 6, 2017 The chief executive of British Airways said today the carrier “always will be a premium airline”, though added the airline remained unapologetic about cost-cutting in order to face off against rising competition. Speaking at the Aviation Club lunch, Alex Cruz said: “Let me make our position clear: we are, and always will be, a premium [...]
Davis accused of misleading parliament over Brexit impact studies December 6, 2017 David Davis has been accused of “misleading parliament” over Brexit impact studies, with MPs looking to establish whether he has held parliament in contempt over the matter. The Brexit secretary this morning told MPs no impact assessments had been carried out for sectors, or the impact of leaving the customs union, saying the value of [...]
David Davis insists no Brexit impact studies exist, says value of studies was “near zero” December 6, 2017 David Davis has once again insisted that no sectoral analyses for the impact of Brexit exist, saying he is “not a fan” of economic models. The Brexit secretary told MPs of the Exiting the EU select committee that the usefulness of such a model would be “near zero” because of the “paradigm shift” represented by [...]
The UK’s state pension is the least generous in the OECD December 6, 2017 UK pensioners can look forward to receiving just 29 per cent of their salary from the state when they retire – the lowest rate of any developed country, according to new research. The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) said by the end of their careers, the average person entering the workforce in developed [...]
Poundland share price crash: Discount group’s owner Steinhoff slashed by more than 66 per cent as CEO quits amid accounting probe December 6, 2017 Shares in Steinhoff, Poundland’s South Africa-listed owner, have plummeted this morning as its chief executive quit amid news of an accounting probe. Markus Jooste announced his resignation with immediate effect late last night, as the company announced that “new information has come to light” relating to “accounting irregularities requiring further investigation”. Steinhoff’s board said that, [...]
Saga share price drops as it expects full-year profits to be hit by the collapse of Monarch Airlines December 6, 2017 Over-50s insurance specialist Saga has warned that underlying profits will grow at a slower than expected rate this year and will be around five per cent lower next year following the collapse of Monarch Airlines. Saga’s underlying profit before tax growth is expected to be between one and two per cent for the year to [...]