Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price: Opec-led supply cut extension boosts oil prices December 1, 2017 Oil prices rose today after they were bolstered by an agreement between the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-members including Russia over production curbs yesterday. The Opec-led coalition agreed to extend oil supply cuts through to the end of 2018, nine months past the previous expiration date of March 2018, as the [...]
Shares in this FTSE-listed business Torotrak have just plummeted 48 per cent on failing to secure a refinancing December 1, 2017 London-listed engineering business Torotrak has certainly taken a wrong turn somewhere, as its market cap was halved today upon the announcement that it had failed to secure a refinancing. Torotrak, which focuses on emissions reduction and fuel efficiency technology, said it had been “trying to secure a refinancing of the company to address its financial [...]
Irish border: Ireland’s deputy PM Simon Coveney says the UK must assure no hard border in Ireland ahead of Brexit trade talks December 1, 2017 Ireland’s foreign minister and freshly appointed deputy prime minister has said the UK must assure that there will be no regulatory divergence between Northern Ireland and the Republic before post-Brexit trade talks proceed. Simon Coveney said the UK would be asking the Republic to take a “leap in the dark” over its future and that [...]
UK manufacturing PMI: Pound sterling dips despite UK manufacturing having its best month since 2013 December 1, 2017 The UK’s manufacturing sector shifted up a gear in November as a closely-watched index showed the sector was at a four-year high. IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector jumped to 58.2 from an upwardly revised 56.5 in October, topping economists’ expectations and hitting its highest level since August 2013. The index [...]
Mayor Sadiq Khan takes control of West Ham United home ground London stadium due to Boris Johnson’s “financial mismanagement” December 1, 2017 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has accused his predecessor Boris Johnson of “panicking” over the London Stadium transformation, and has taken control of the project – West Ham United’s home ground – “to put it on a more secure financial footing”. Khan today published an independent review into the mismanagement of the London Stadium by [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chops 680 jobs in the run-up to Christmas as 259 RBS and Natwest branches are marked for closure December 1, 2017 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has entered December with an unwelcome gift for its employees, announcing 680 jobs will be cut as it marks 259 branches for closure. Blaming the rise of online banking, RBS said it would get rid of 62 Royal Bank of Scotland branches and 197 Natwest branches. Read more: Royal Bank [...]
Ollie Phillips: There is merit in ring-fencing Premiership and abolishing promotion and relegation December 1, 2017 Scrapping relegation from the Premiership is the eternal debate and the question reared its head once again this week when the topic was part of a wider discussion at a professional game board meeting. I’m torn on the issue. I can see the financial benefits of having no promotion to or relegation from the Premiership. [...]
Just Eat faces a tall order – it needs to keep delivering for its investors if it’s to be number one in the £9.9bn takeaway sector December 1, 2017 Just Eat delivered more than just takeaways last month. It not only set a new Guinness world record for the largest human image of a pizza but also received the green light to gobble up rival Hungryhouse. But the cherry on the cake for Just Eat was joining the FTSE 100 this week with a [...]
DEBATE: Is Bitcoin too volatile and risky to be considered a serious investment? December 1, 2017 Is Bitcoin too volatile and risky to be considered a serious investment? Dr Savvas P Savouri, chief economist and partner at Toscafund Asset Management, says YES. It is not that I simply don’t like bitcoin. I just don’t get what owning it is supposed to provide. There is no yield, it isn’t backed by any [...]
City firms on hiring spree as salaries look set to keep rising December 1, 2017 City firms are set to embark on a hiring spree next year as the need to deal with new rules and technology trumps the ongoing political uncertainty over the Brexit process. More than two-thirds of financial services firms plan to recruit staff over the next 12 months, with the majority planning to bring permanent staff [...]