Bovis Homes ups dividend after record completions July 6, 2015 The surging housing market has buoyed Bovis Homes to post a record number of completions on new homes – enabling it to significantly increase its dividend. The figures: Bovis completed a record 1,525 new home legal completions in the first half of the year, up from 1,487 in 2014. The average price on legal completions [...]
Monitise steadies business by cutting costs and stems outflows July 6, 2015 Troubled tech group Monitise has cut costs and stemmed outflows as management attempts to steady the ship after a rocky year. The figures: Monitise has forecast revenues for the year to June 30 to reach £88-90m, thanks to “materially lower” operating and capital expenses in the second half. As a result, second half losses [...]
Wagamama hires retail veteran Allan Leighton as new chairman July 5, 2015 Asian restaurant chain Wagamama is set to appoint Allan Leighton as chairman, paving the way for further expansion overseas. The retail and leisure veteran, best known for turning around supermarket chain Asda, has had a prolific career chairing and advising companies including Royal Mail, the Co-operative Group, and retailers BHS, Peacocks and Pandora. [...]
Genel to name chief exec Tony Hayward as chairman July 5, 2015 Former BP boss Tony Hayward is expected to take up the role of chairman at Genel Energy, where he is currently chief executive, in a move that could fly in the face of corporate governance issues. Hayward, who left BP in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, has led Kurdistan-focused Genel since [...]
Aim-listed companies leaving junior index hits three year high July 5, 2015 The junior stock market has had a net loss of 29 companies in the first two quarters of 2015 – its biggest for three years. The Alternative Investment Market (Aim) shrank by 27 companies in 2012 but even more left the index this year. Last year the market grew by four companies. Accountancy firm UHY [...]
Has the ongoing Greek crisis irrevocably tarnished the single European currency? July 5, 2015 Ruth Lea, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. The euro was first and foremost a political project, albeit one with the profoundest of economic ramifications. Its launch was a major step towards the “ever closer union of the peoples of Europe”, as first articulated in the Treaty of Rome. But Greece’s current [...]
China freezes IPOs as stock markets nose-dive July 5, 2015 China has reportedly stepped up efforts to stabilise its tumultuous stock market by suspending initial public offerings and creating a market stabilisation fund. The world's second-largest economy halted new share offerings yesterday according to the Wall Street Journal. This could improve liquidity because large amounts of money are frozen when subscriptions are taken, diverting it away from current [...]
Uber suspends services in France following authorities’ crackdown on controversial Uber Pop July 3, 2015 Uber has suspended its Uber Pop services in France, a week after French authorities began cracking down on the company's cab service. Thibaud Simphal, head of Uber France, has announced that the controversial service will be suspended starting 8pm tonight, Le Figaro reports. The company says the move was made in a “spirit of appeasement” [...]
One chart showing how BP’s share price never recovered from the Deepwater Horizon disaster July 3, 2015 On the evening of 20 April 2010, a release of gasses at BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico caused an explosion which ripped through the rig, killing 11 workers and causing an oil leak which continued for 87 days. By the end of the disaster, 3.2m barrels of oil had leaked [...]
RBS share price falls as it could face $13bn penalty over mortgage-backed securities July 3, 2015 Royal Bank of Scotland has been told it could face a $13bn (£8.3bn) bill over its behaviour before the 2008 crisis, causing shares to fall 2.1 per cent in mid-morning trading. The 79 per cent taxpayer-owned bank is involved in a long running case in a Connecticut court over how it packaged mortgage bonds and [...]