Government could sell half its RBS stake within two years to raise £16bn July 6, 2015 The government could sell half of its stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) within two years, raising £16bn in the process. Read more: RBS' share price falls as it could face $13bn penalty over mortgage-backed securities The Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne announced last month it would begin to sell off a stake in [...]
Budget airlines easyJet and Wizz Air welcome soaring passenger numbers as summer starts July 6, 2015 A fleet of budget airlines have today announced their passenger statistics for last month. One of the key elements to look out for is load factor. This is a measure of how much capacity an airline uses, and is critical for low cost airlines, who are less able to absorb the cost of flying with [...]
Shell set to begin Arctic oil drilling within two weeks July 6, 2015 Oil giant Shell is set to begin drilling for oil in the Arctic within the next two weeks, as 30 ships have left Alaskan harbours towards two exploratory wells. The Arctic is one of the planet’s most oil and gas-rich places, and the company's oil exploration was given the go-ahead by the US Department of [...]
Bovis Homes ups dividend after record completions July 6, 2015 The surging housing market has buoyed Bovis Homes to post a record number of completions on new homes – enabling it to significantly increase its dividend. The figures: Bovis completed a record 1,525 new home legal completions in the first half of the year, up from 1,487 in 2014. The average price on legal completions [...]
Monitise steadies business by cutting costs and stems outflows July 6, 2015 Troubled tech group Monitise has cut costs and stemmed outflows as management attempts to steady the ship after a rocky year. The figures: Monitise has forecast revenues for the year to June 30 to reach £88-90m, thanks to “materially lower” operating and capital expenses in the second half. As a result, second half losses [...]
Wagamama hires retail veteran Allan Leighton as new chairman July 5, 2015 Asian restaurant chain Wagamama is set to appoint Allan Leighton as chairman, paving the way for further expansion overseas. The retail and leisure veteran, best known for turning around supermarket chain Asda, has had a prolific career chairing and advising companies including Royal Mail, the Co-operative Group, and retailers BHS, Peacocks and Pandora. [...]
Genel to name chief exec Tony Hayward as chairman July 5, 2015 Former BP boss Tony Hayward is expected to take up the role of chairman at Genel Energy, where he is currently chief executive, in a move that could fly in the face of corporate governance issues. Hayward, who left BP in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, has led Kurdistan-focused Genel since [...]
Aim-listed companies leaving junior index hits three year high July 5, 2015 The junior stock market has had a net loss of 29 companies in the first two quarters of 2015 – its biggest for three years. The Alternative Investment Market (Aim) shrank by 27 companies in 2012 but even more left the index this year. Last year the market grew by four companies. Accountancy firm UHY [...]
Has the ongoing Greek crisis irrevocably tarnished the single European currency? July 5, 2015 Ruth Lea, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. The euro was first and foremost a political project, albeit one with the profoundest of economic ramifications. Its launch was a major step towards the “ever closer union of the peoples of Europe”, as first articulated in the Treaty of Rome. But Greece’s current [...]
China freezes IPOs as stock markets nose-dive July 5, 2015 China has reportedly stepped up efforts to stabilise its tumultuous stock market by suspending initial public offerings and creating a market stabilisation fund. The world's second-largest economy halted new share offerings yesterday according to the Wall Street Journal. This could improve liquidity because large amounts of money are frozen when subscriptions are taken, diverting it away from current [...]