Afren share price wavers after directors Peter Bingham and John St John step down May 18, 2015 Shares in troubled oil firm Afren opened 2.82 per cent higher at 3.28p after it announced two of its non-executive directors will to step down after its AGM, as the company's debt talks roll on. They were later trading slightly lower 0.63 per cent at 3.17p in early afternoon trade. Peter Bingham and John St [...]
Alibaba dismisses Kering lawsuit over faked goods as “wasteful litigation” May 18, 2015 Alibaba has dismissed the lawsuit brought by luxury giant Kering over counterfeit merchandise as “wasteful litigation”, saying it will fight the case “vigorously”. Kering, which owns high end brands such as Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, is suing the Chinese etailer over claims it is complicit in the sale of fake handbags, watches [...]
Bwin.party share price rises after 888 Holdings takeover bid May 18, 2015 Shares in bwin.party soared over six per cent in early trading after rival 888 Holdings confirmed it had submitted a bid for all of bwin.party's share capital. Read more: 888 pays out as strong results give investors special dividend By contrast, 888's share price fell over five per cent, with investors seemingly not sold on its plans. 888 [...]
Mitie share price rises despite homecare and house building struggles May 18, 2015 The figures Shares in FTSE 250-listed waste management outsourcer Mitie opened over three per cent higher at 297p this morning after it heralded a year of "significant progress" with rises in revenue, profit and earnings. In its results for the year ending 31 March, Mitie reported a 5.8 per cent rise in revenue to £2.3bn [...]
Acquisitions send Babcock pretax profit soaring 43 per cent May 18, 2015 The figures Shares in engineering and support services group Babcock opened 2.52 per cent higher, at 1,108p, after results showed revenue climbed 20 per cent to £3.9bn in the year to March 2015, up from £3.32bn the year before. Similarly, pre-tax profit rose 43 per cent to £313.1m, up from £218.8m a year earlier. Nonetheless, net debt rose to £1.32bn – up [...]
Barclays to settle £2bn forex-rigging case May 17, 2015 Barclays Bank is closing in on a major £2bn settlement with regulators around the world, drawing to a close its role in the deeply damaging foreign exchange markets rigging scandal. The bank, whose chief executive is Antony Jenkins, is attempting to settle with a number of regulators simultaneously. Last November it pulled out of a [...]
Allianz growth plan on track as premiums grow in first quarter May 17, 2015 Premiums grew by five per cent at Allianz UK in the first quarter of 2015, as the German-owned insurer continues with plans to become a £3bn firm by the end of 2018. Gross written premium went up to £555m, from £528m in the same period of 2014, and combined ratio improved to 97.7 per cent [...]
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary to seek CMA damages as Irish government gets green light May 17, 2015 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary was fighting a rearguard battle with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over the weekend as he sought to maintain his firm’s stake in Aer Lingus. The threat from O’Leary to seek damages from the regulator, made in the Telegraph, is the latest salvo in the long-running dispute. O’Leary has maintained [...]
Palatine orders up £13m buyout of cocktail chain The Alchemist May 17, 2015 Upmarket cocktail chain The Alchemist has said it is planning to gobble up more sites across the UK after completing a £13m management buyout backed by Palatine Private Equity. The Alchemist, which first opened its doors in Manchester in 2010, runs two venues in the city centre as well as sites in Leeds and in [...]
How Finncap weathered the General Election and Scottish referendum storms May 17, 2015 If a week is a long time in politics then nine months is an age – especially for City broker Finncap. The run-up to Scotland’s referendum in September and the run-in to May’s general election was the noisy backdrop for much of Finncap’s financial year. Despite a severe dampening of animal spirits across the Square [...]