VW chief Matthias Mueller says “no plans” for asset sell-off as chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch blames “chain of errors” and company culture for CO2 emissions scandal December 10, 2015 Volkswagen chief executive Matthias Mueller has insisted there are no plans – and no need – to sell of assets following the emissions scandal which has rocked the German car company. Speaking at as press conference with chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch, he said there was no need to "even think about this question". "I'm not going to speculate about figures we [...]
Lloyds share price rises after it wins ECN bonds case in appeals court December 10, 2015 Lloyds shares rose today, after a court of appeal sided with the bank over its request to buy back special high-interest bonds, which were issued during the height of the financial crisis. Lloyds sold the enhanced capital notes (ECNs) to retail investors shortly after it was bailed out by the government in 2009, boosting its capital buffer. The [...]
Shell could pull out of New Zealand after over 100 years as oil prices plunge December 10, 2015 Royal Dutch Shell is reviewing its business interests in New Zealand, where it has operated for more than 100 years, as it looks to cut costs amid persistently low oil prices. Low oil prices have squeezed oil companies' balance sheets forcing them to review and cut back operations. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, fell below $40 per barrel [...]
FTSE 100 index opens flat weighing Glencore gains against Sports Direct losses December 10, 2015 The FTSE 100 index opened flat this morning, weighing gains made by Glencore and losses in Sports Direct and Old Mutual The UK's top blue-chip index opened 0.44 per cent down at 6,099 points. Old Mutual dropped 4.61 as the market opened, to 186.2p per share, while Sports Direct's share price fell 6.69 per cent to 621p [...]
Glencore share price rises as it unveils increases debt reduction and cuts spending December 10, 2015 Glencore shares rose 5.7 per cent to 87.75p per share this morning, as investors cheered its plans for more debt reduction and spending cuts. In a statement released ahead of its annual investor day, the commodities miner and trader said it was now targeting net debt of between $18bn (£11.9bn) and $19bn by the end of 2016, lower than the previous [...]
Star fund manager Neil Woodford sells Rolls-Royce stake after profit warning in November December 10, 2015 Star fund manager Neil Woodford has sold his stake in Rolls-Royce, after a disappointing trading update from the engineering company last month. While Woodford didn not say how big the stake was, reports suggest that it was initially around 2.2 per cent of the company, or £232m. "Over the last couple of years, Rolls-Royce has become a more challenged [...]
Savoy parent company FRHI Holdings bought by French hospitality group AccorHotels December 9, 2015 Paris-based hotel group AccorHotels is buying FRHI Holdings, owner of the Savoy in London and the Plaza in New York. Accor is paying for the company, which owns the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel chains, by issuing 46.7m new Accor shares and making a cash payment of $840m (£553m). The group is selling a 10.5 per [...]
EU-wide cap on credit and debit card fees could save businesses money – but customers miss out thanks to slashed rewards programmes December 9, 2015 A new EU-wide cap on credit and debit card fees intended to save consumers cash may have unforseen consequences, experts have warned. The cap on how much credit and debit card companies can charge retailers, which went into effect today, limits fees on credit card payments to 0.30 per cent of the transaction value. Fees [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index closes down despite miners making gains December 9, 2015 The FTSE 100 index closed down today despite a number of miners shaking off a volatile start to the day to close higher. The index closed 0.14 per cent down at 6,126 points, even though gains were seen at companies including Glencore, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, as well as Ashtead Group. "It would appear that a weaker US [...]
US-based Computer Sciences Corporation set to buy Xchanging in £480m deal, beating out a previous offer from Capita December 9, 2015 Business technology and services provider Xchanging’s board of directors today agreed to be purchased by US-based digital consultancy company Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). CSC’s cash offer of 190p per share, which is worth about £480m, beat out an offer of 160p per share from outsourcing giant Capita, which had also shown an interest in buying [...]