MPs turn up the heat on FRC over KPMG enquiry February 3, 2016 Influential MP and chairman of the Treasury select committee (TSC) Andrew Tyrie has increased the pressure on the accountancy watchdog over its supervision of big four auditor KPMG’s role in the collapse of HBOS. Last month the Financial Reporting Council said it would look into whether to open an investigation against KPMG, having previously decided not [...]
January sets the bar high for mega deals this year February 3, 2016 The start of 2016 has been the biggest since 2008 for merger and acquisition activity, according to deal data firm Mergermarket. A whopping $254.9bn worth of deals, up 6.7 per cent from the same period in 2015, have been done around the world to date this year with the latest deal to be announced, the takeover [...]
General Motor share price falls as car giant reports record quarterly and yearly profits February 3, 2016 Shares in US car manufacturer General Motors (GM) have dipped by as much as five per cent today, despite the company posting a record yearly profit of $9.7bn (£6.6bn) in 2015 – up from $2.8bn in 2014. Revenue for the quarter was flat at $39.6bn while full year revenue dipped to $152.4bn from $155.9bn. “It was [...]
Comcast posts 8.3 per cent jump in revenue as it adds 89,000 new video customers February 3, 2016 US media group Comcast reported an 8.5 per cent increase in revenue during the final quarter of 2015, up to $19.25bn (£13.16bn) from $17.73bn – and beating analysts' expectations of $18.76bn. Revenue for the full year was up 8.3 per cent to $74.5bn from $68.8bn, and operating income grew 7.3 per cent from $14.9bn to $16bn. The [...]
Mondelez International share price drops as currency issues eat into snacks group’s sales February 3, 2016 Mondelez International, the parent company of several snack brands including Cadbury, Belvita and Milka, posted a 16.6 per cent dip in sales during the fourth quarter of 2015, down to $7.36bn (£5.04bn). This represents the ninth consecutive quarter of decreased revenue for the group. Europe put in a particularly bad performance, with sales down 31.8 [...]
Eagle Eye wins contract with Canadian supermarket giant Loblaw February 3, 2016 Eagle Eye Solutions, an Aim-listed retail and hospitality voucher firm backed by Sir Terry Leahy, has won a significant contract with Canadian supermarket chain Loblaw to assist it with its digital promotions. Eagle Eye, whose clients also include Sainsbury's and Asda, said that Loblaw represented its first major international client and would contribute material revenue over [...]
Singapore’s Ho Bee Land puts Southwark’s Rose Court up for sale for £100m February 3, 2016 Singaporean investor Ho Bee Land has put a government office building on the south bank up for sale with a price tag of £98m. The company has hired agents at Savills to sell Rose Court, three years after buying the building for around £67m from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. The site, next to Southwark Bridge, [...]
British Airways relaunches flights to Iran between London Heathrow and Tehran for first time since 2012 February 3, 2016 British Airways will restart flights from London to Iran this summer after a four-year break. The airline will run six services a week from Heathrow Terminal Five to the Iranian capital Tehran, starting on 14 July. Daily flights will start on 30 October. BA first flew between London and Tehran in 1946 but services stopped in [...]
The 20 best perks firms like Netflix, Spotify, Facebook and Google offer their employees February 3, 2016 We spend most of our waking hours in the office, so it’s no surprise we’d want that time to pass by as enjoyably as possible. Careers website Glassdoor has surveyed employees to find the best perks available, and according to the recruiter, more than half, some 57 per cent, argue that perks are among their [...]
Lloyds Banking Group is axing 1,755 more jobs and closing 29 branches of Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and Halifax February 3, 2016 More than a thousand jobs will go at Lloyds and 29 branches will close in its latest round of cuts designed to reduce its workforce by 10 per cent by 2017. The axe will fall on staff at Lloyds' retail businesses as well as commercial banking, consumer finance and legal departments. Around 1,000 jobs went at the end [...]