Interest rates, junk bonds and safe-havens: What investors should look out for in 2016 December 15, 2015 This year has been full of surprises for investors – from the Swiss National Bank's shock abandonment of its currency ceiling, to the financial market turmoil which came out of China's "Black Friday". So what should market mavens look out for in 2016? Interest rates will diverge The long-awaited interest rate rise looks some way [...]
MPs pile pressure on the accounting watchdog and KPMG over HBOS failures December 15, 2015 An influential group of MPs have renewed calls for the accounting industry watchdog to investigate KPMG’s role in the collapse of HBOS. Steve Baker MP, a member of the Treasury select committee, called the auditing of banks by accountancy firms around 2008 “the great uncovered scandal of the financial crisis”. In last month’s report into [...]
StanChart slims its oil and gas advisory banking team as Bill Winters makes cost cuts December 15, 2015 Standard Chartered has axed around six oil and gas advisory banking roles recently, as its new chief executive Bill Winters powers ahead with his cost-cutting plan. The senior managing directors to leave the bank include the London-based head of the energy mergers and acquisitions team, three sources told Reuters. Four Singapore-based managing directors in the [...]
Top regulator Andrew Bailey writes to challenger banks over Basel Committee buy-to-let capital requirement proposals December 15, 2015 A top City regulator has taken new steps to reassure Britain’s challenger banks about capital requirements ahead of a meeting today between bank bosses and Treasury officials. In a letter sent to challenger bank bosses today, Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) chief executive Andrew Bailey said that smaller lenders should not be overly worried about the [...]
Nurofen advertising being investigated by Advertising Standards Authority over claims in Nurofen Express advert December 15, 2015 The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) confirmed yesterday that they are investigating advertising for Nurofen, which is owned by Reckitt Benckiser, on the grounds some claims could have misled consumers. The UK's advertising watchdog has said it is following up on 12 complaints about a television advert for Nurofen Express, examining whether the advert was misleading because it implied the [...]
Pod Point’s mini bond fundraiser on Crowdcube gets turbocharged and beats £250,000 target December 15, 2015 Pod Point, the company that manufactures charging points for electric vehicles, has raised £267,750 from mini bonds on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. The bonds, which have an eight per cent annual yield and mature after three years, will be used to fund the initial roll out of Pod Point's new public charging network, Open Charge. Erik [...]
Aim-listed law firm Gateley reports bumper profits in first set of results since IPO December 15, 2015 Gateley reported today profits before tax for the six months ended 31 October 2015 of £2.9m, up 11.5 per cent from £2.6m in 2014. The law firm, which started trading on Aim in June, also revealed that revenue had increased to £29.6m, a rise of 10.9 per cent from £26.7m the same time last year. The firm [...]
Addison Lee introduces feature allowing you to “snooze” your minicab if you’re not ready to leave the Christmas party December 15, 2015 With less than ten sleeps to go til Christmas, London’s taxis and minicabs are bracing for the mayhem when peak Christmas party hits this weekend. But one of them has a new trick up their sleeve that might just help you and them both. Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the year [...]
Royal Mail share price stays stable as company is hit with a €55m fine from Autorite de la Concurrence, the French competition authority December 15, 2015 Royal Mail has today agreed to pay a fine of €55m (£40m) to the French competition authority, Autorite de la Concurrence, to settle a price fixing charge. The fine relates to the activities of Royal Mail's French subsidiary, GLS France, which, along with 19 other courier companies and a trade association, was said to have colluded to [...]
Starbucks serves up £8m in UK corporation tax after record results December 15, 2015 Starbucks served up £8m in corporation tax to the UK last year after brewing up £34.2m in pre-tax profits. The Seattle-based coffee chain has faced fierce criticism for paying minimal corporation tax since launching in Britain in 1998, after claiming to have never made a profit until last year. In its latest set of results, [...]