The amount of equity withdrawn by remortgaging properties reached £837m in December 2015, while equity release lending hit £1.61bn in 2015 January 26, 2016 Equity release activity became frenzied in the later months of last year, with both equity withdrawn by remortgaging properties and total equity release lending levels reaching dizzying heights. According to figures released today by Legal Marketing Services (LMS), a total of £837m was extracted from properties through remortgaging in December 2015, up 32 per cent compared to £635m in December [...]
Iranian banks in talks with regulators over resuming London operations January 25, 2016 Two Iranian banks in London are in talks with UK regulators over resuming operations, according to reports. Melli Bank and Persia International Bank had heavy restrictions placed on them in 2009 when economic sanctions were put on Iran. They are now looking to fulfil Bank of England criteria for financial firms, sources told Reuters. The [...]
Twitter names Nathan Hubbard as interim media head January 25, 2016 Twitter has appointed its commerce chief Nathan Hubbard as interim media head, according to reports. Hubbard's appointment comes after chief exec Jack Dorsey confirmed media head Katie Jacobs Stanton, product vice president Kevin Weil and engineering head Alex Roetter were all departing the company. He also said Skip Schipper, the company's head of HR, will be leaving too. Sources told [...]
Opec begs others to join it in cutting production January 25, 2016 The standoff between Opec and its rivals came to a head today as the cartels secretary-general called on other oil producing countries to put a ceiling on output. Abdalla El-Badri warned that producers would continue to suffer without co-operation to end a supply glut. The call was echoed by a senior Russian oil executive, who said [...]
Heathrow 13: Airport welcomes guilty verdict for Plane Stupid protesters January 25, 2016 Heathrow Airport has welcomed the news that 13 protesters who caused disruption on a runway last year have been told they are likely to be jailed over their actions. The so-called Heathrow 13, who broke onto a runway last July causing numerous flight cancellations, were found guilty of aggravated trespass and entering a security-restricted area of [...]
European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi blasts critics of easy money January 25, 2016 European Central Bank (ECB) boss Mario Draghi has hit back at critics of the bank's decisions to keep interest rates low and launch a €1.5 trillion (£1.1 trillion) asset purchase programme. Draghi, who last week hinted interest rates might be cut further, said low interest rates were not punishing savers. He said inflation adjusted returns did not tell this story [...]
Commodities in 2016: Silver could go on a winning streak as experts say capex cuts and increased demand will mean silver rises 20 per cent January 25, 2016 When gold prices rise, silver normally does too – and it tends to outperform the yellow metal. Some commodities specialists think silver prices could stage a recovery this year. “There’s an inherent link between the two. Silver is gold’s little sister and when gold moves higher, silver does too,” says Clive Burstow, manager of Barings Global [...]
SThree share price falls although recruiter reveals strong profit and revenue growth in 2015 despite a slump in its energy division January 25, 2016 SThree today reported profits before tax of £37.7m for the year to the end of November, up 29 per cent from £29.3m the year before. Revenue growth for the recruiter, which specialises in placing professionals in industries such as IT, finance and life sciences, was also strong, with revenue for the year rising to £848.8m, up 14 per cent from [...]
Tesco share price falls as Serious Fraud Office’s investigation is set to conclude January 25, 2016 A criminal investigation into Tesco, the UK's biggest retailer, by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is set to come to a conclusion after more than a year, according to Cantor Fitzgerald analysts. The investigation, launched in October 2014 after a multi-million pound profit black hole was uncovered at the supermarket, had been due to be resolved by the end of last year. [...]
FTSE 100 index falls as the price of oil slides again January 25, 2016 The FTSE 100 index fell on Monday as the price of oil slid once again. The UK's blue-chip index closed 0.39 per cent down at 5,877 points, led lower by banks, BT and Kingfisher “The FTSE started up about 17 points at 5917, but as soon as oil came off its better levels of $32.60 down to [...]