Recruitment firm Robert Half buoyed by “healthy” US jobs market February 2, 2016 US recruitment firm Robert Half continued to grow in the fourth quarter of 2015, buoyed by the booming US jobs market and a better outlook in its international markets. The firm, which has a UK office in the Shard, said net income rose 11.2 per cent to $93.4m (£64.8m) in the three months ended December 31, from $84m [...]
Property market upbeat on lending activity in 2016 despite Brexit fears February 2, 2016 Lenders are predicting an upbeat outlook for the European real estate investment market this year, despite fears of a Brexit and the China market slowdown posing greater uncertainty, new research finds. Cushman & Wakefield’s latest European lending trends report found that more 90 per cent of the 60 leading European lenders surveyed – who collectively provide over €80bn of [...]
HSBC’s Saudi Arabia subsidiary hired senior compliance staff with bogus business degrees February 2, 2016 HSBC Saudia Arabia, a subsidiary of the British bank, hired two senior compliance staff with unaccredited business degrees – meaning they are unqualified to apply for even an entry-level position at the firm. And an investigation by Channel 4 News has revealed that these are just two among dozens of Saudi staff working at international finance [...]
Volkswagen emissions scandal: VW sales continue to slide on fallout from the test rigging February 2, 2016 Sales of Volkswagen cars continued to slide in January as the fallout from the emissions rigging scandal deepened. Volkswagen passenger car sales fell 8.8 per cent in Germany in January, while in the US sales slumped 15 per cent compared on last year. Overall car sales in Germany, Europe's largest car market, were up 3.3 per [...]
Ride hailing app Uber has changed its logo and branding February 2, 2016 Controversial ride hailing app Uber has completely changed its logo and branding, after its chief executive said the firm's old look started to remind him of a hairstyle that hadn't been in fashion since the 1990s. Travis Kalanick, chief executive and co-founder of Uber, said that the re-design reflects how much Uber has changed since it started as a [...]
LVMH bucks bad trend in luxury goods market February 2, 2016 LVMH said today that strength in Europe, the US and Japan helped it buck an unfavourable trend which has seen luxury goods companies suffer as a result of the slowing global economy. The company, which owns fashion houses Dior and Louis Vuitton, said recorded revenue rose by 16 per cent to €35.7bn (£27bn) in 2015. This beat analysts estimates [...]
Here’s what analysts think about BP’s latest set of results (they’re not that keen) February 2, 2016 BP's share price closed today at its lowest level since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, down around seven per cent on the day at 340.70p, after posting worse-than-expected results this morning. The energy giant has recorded a replacement cost loss of $2.23bn in the fourth quarter, up from $969bn. Underlying RC profit for the fourth quarter was [...]
Gold looks set to lose it’s shine in 2016 as markets calm down February 2, 2016 Gold, the perceived safest of havens, is unlikely to keep its gains in 2016, according to a survey of 31 gold watchers by the London Bullion Market Association. Those surveyed produced an average price of $1,103 a troy ounce, down from the current price of $1,125.3. The predictions ranged from $1,225 at the most bullish [...]
EDF Hinkley Point C project director Christopher Bakken has left for US-based Entergy Corporation February 2, 2016 The executive who had been in charge of French energy giant EDF’s £18bn construction of Hinkley Point C has left the company for another role in the US. Christopher Bakken had been EDF’s project director for Hinkley, leading on its design, licensing, procurement, construction and commissioning. He’s left to become executive vice president and chief nuclear [...]
Royal Caribbean share price sinks as cruise company misses revenue estimates and forecasts dip in profit February 2, 2016 Shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises have tumbled by as much as 16.3 per cent today, after the firm missed expectations in its results for the final three months of 2015 – and warned that profits for the current quarter are likely to come in well below analysts' expectations. Revenue rose 4.4 per cent to $1.9bn [...]