Cadbury owner Mondelez and the incredible shrinking corporation tax December 7, 2015 Cadbury owner Mondelez has come under fire over arrangements which enable it to pay no corporation tax in the UK. The legal but controversial scheme allows the company to report losses in the UK, despite millions of pounds of revenue and global profits of billions. Under a "quoted Eurobond exemption" rule, the company makes interest [...]
Serco forecasts trading ahead of expectations for 2015 – but 2016 forecast pushes share price lower December 7, 2015 Is the iceberg-bound supertanker that is outsourcing giant Serco finally turning around? The company said this morning it expects 2015 trading "ahead of previous guidance". But investors weren't impressed: shares fell 8.6 per cent to 104.4p in early trading. Perhaps that was to do with expectations of a "further decline" in both revenues and trading [...]
FTSE 100 index opens higher on Associated British Foods, EasyJet and pharmaceuticals December 7, 2015 The FTSE 100 index opened up this morning, boosted by gains from EasyJet and Berkeley Group. The index was 0.53 per cent up at 6,271 points when the market opened. Primark owner Associated British Foods was 1.31 per cent higher at 3,530.5p per share, while Berkeley Group was 1.22 per cent up at 3,643p per share. Read more: RBS [...]
Electrolux share price tumbles on $3.3bn General Electric appliances merger cancellation December 7, 2015 Shares in Swedish appliance manufacturer Electrolux tumbled 14 per cent this morning, after it emerged the company won't buy General Electric's appliance business – thanks to interference from the US Department of Justice (DoJ). In a sheepish update this morning, the company said it had been notified by GE that it had terminated the $3.3bn takeover agreement, [...]
RBS share price rises after it sells off portfolio of Irish real estate loans December 7, 2015 The Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) Ulster Bank today has sold off a portfolio of Irish real estate loans for £360m, as part of a drive to decrease its capital needs. The assets were bought by a subsidiary of Cairn Homes and an affiliate of Lone Star Funds, and the sale is expected to complete by the end of this [...]
What got us tweeting in 2015: JeSuisParis, Refugees Welcome and The Dress top the bill December 7, 2015 When it came to the last 12 months, there were plenty of big hitting topics that got us talking – or rather, tweeting – in 2015. The hashtag #JeSuisParis was Twitter's top “influential moment” of 2015, trending last month after Islamic State carried out a number of terrorist attacks in Paris, killing 129 people. It came on the [...]
Morgan Stanley preparing to axe up to a quarter of staff in its fixed income division December 7, 2015 Morgan Stanley staff are bracing themselves for another week of redundancies as the banking giant wields the axe at its fixed income division. City A.M. understands that the US investment bank could axe more than a quarter of its fixed income staff across worldwide operations. Disgruntled employees in London have taken to social media to voice [...]
Dame Colette Bowe on her plans for the Banking Standards Board December 7, 2015 Sitting in a small office around the corner from the Bank of England, former Ofcom chair Dame Colette Bowe says that her new job barely resembles her earlier days as a regulator. “We’re very different from being a regulator,” Bowe tells City A.M. “Regulators have statutory duties, as well as statutory powers. Regulators can say: [...]
Bankers’ bonuses could drop by 10 per cent due to reduced number of IPOs December 7, 2015 Bankers are being warned that bonuses could plummet by almost 10 per cent as the annual salary-sweetener season kicks off, with zero-bonuses expected to make a comeback in 2016. Investment bankers working in mergers and acquisitions and in fixed income, currency and commodities (Ficc) are most at risk of seeing their bonuses slashed, according to [...]
One Undershaft: Plans to build the City’s tallest skyscraper and London’s second highest building revealed December 7, 2015 Plans to build the City’s tallest skyscraper and London's second highest building – rivalled only by the Shard – have been unveiled today. Singapore-based developers Aroland Holdings are seeking planning permission to build a 73 storey tower at One Undershaft in the City, between the Leadenhall Building and 30 St Mary’s Axe. Standing 309.6 metres [...]