Standard Life to shut down Singapore arm June 25, 2015 Standard Life is closing its insurance business in Singapore, swallowing a £45m loss, it revealed today. The FTSE 100 company said the closure would go ahead subject to regulatory approvals, but that it was now no longer accepting new applications or contributions to existing plans. Customers in Singapore will be contacted with an [...]
Afren’s share price soars as it reveals entire board is stepping down at today’s AGM June 25, 2015 Afren's share price jumped nearly 20 per cent this morning after it emerged the entire board, including chairman Egbert Imomoh, will step down after today's AGM. As well as Imomah, Toby Hayward, Patrick Obath, Sheree Bryant and Iain McLaren will not stand for re-election as directors. Imomah said: "The past year has been [...]
US stocks fall as investors avoid equities – New York Report June 24, 2015 US stocks closed lower yesterday, dropping in a broad decline as the outcome of negotiations between Greece and its international creditors remained up in the air, prompting investors to drop riskier assets like equities. Wall Street has lately taken its cue from the situation in Greece, which needs fresh funds to avoid defaulting on a [...]
Be afraid: The autumn could bring a significant correction in US equities June 24, 2015 There are times when you should be afraid, very afraid. This might be one of them. Two measures of US equities strike me as particularly worrying. First, the Shiller cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio (Cape). Second, Tobin’s Q measure. Cape is defined as the ratio of prices (on the S&P index) to average inflation adjusted earnings [...]
You can now sign up for Facebook messenger without having a Facebook account – but not in the UK June 24, 2015 You can now sign up for Facebook messenger without having a Facebook account. In another sign of the power of the smartphone, users won’t even require an email address. Disappointingly for UK users, the service is currently only available in Canada, the US, Peru, and Venezuela. Read more: Facebook Messenger adds 300m users since messaging [...]
Piccadilly’s Criterion restaurant enters administration after 60 per cent rental hike by landlord Criterion Capital June 24, 2015 Iconic London restaurant Criterion has gone into administration after 140 years, as a result of sky-high rents. UHY Hacker Young has been appointed administrator, with Peter Kubik and Andrew Andronikou handling the case. The Criterion was put into administration by the directors after its rent jumped 60 per cent from £525,000 to £850,000 [...]
Neil Woodford-backed challenger Atom gets thumbs-up from regulators June 24, 2015 A mobile-based bank backed by City superstar investor Neil Woodford and launched by a founder of Metro Bank has been granted a banking licence, it said this morning. Durham-based Atom, launched by former Metro Bank chairman and First Direct chief executive Mark Mullen, will launch as a mobile app at first, with a desktop version [...]
Toyota headquarters raided by police following executive’s arrest June 24, 2015 Toyota's headquarters in Tokyo have been raided by police, although it is unclear what they were looking for. Read more: Toyota recalling 190,000 cars as more Takata airbags fail A source told Reuters the search was related to last week's arrest of the company's new communications officer Julie Hamp, who allegedly brought a controlled [...]
SuperGroup confirms Wharton as chief financial officer after previous finance head was made bankrupt June 24, 2015 SuperGroup, the parent company of young fashion label SuperDry, has upgraded its interim chief financial officer Nick Wharton to a permanent role. Wharton, who now joins the board had been acting in the role since 25th February, when he joined from Dunelm where he was chief executive. He had been parachuted in after [...]
New FCA and PRA bonus clawback rules: The UK now has the toughest bank pay rules in the world June 23, 2015 New rules to claw back bankers’ bonuses for up to 10 years threaten to undermine London’s appeal to international financiers, consultants warned yesterday, in the latest salvo against big banks from UK regulators. Read more: Bank bonus clawback extended to 10 years by UK regulators The clawback rules comes amid growing tensions between [...]