Pod Point’s mini bond fundraiser on Crowdcube gets turbocharged and beats £250,000 target December 15, 2015 Pod Point, the company that manufactures charging points for electric vehicles, has raised £267,750 from mini bonds on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. The bonds, which have an eight per cent annual yield and mature after three years, will be used to fund the initial roll out of Pod Point's new public charging network, Open Charge. Erik [...]
Aim-listed law firm Gateley reports bumper profits in first set of results since IPO December 15, 2015 Gateley reported today profits before tax for the six months ended 31 October 2015 of £2.9m, up 11.5 per cent from £2.6m in 2014. The law firm, which started trading on Aim in June, also revealed that revenue had increased to £29.6m, a rise of 10.9 per cent from £26.7m the same time last year. The firm [...]
Addison Lee introduces feature allowing you to “snooze” your minicab if you’re not ready to leave the Christmas party December 15, 2015 With less than ten sleeps to go til Christmas, London’s taxis and minicabs are bracing for the mayhem when peak Christmas party hits this weekend. But one of them has a new trick up their sleeve that might just help you and them both. Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the year [...]
Royal Mail share price stays stable as company is hit with a €55m fine from Autorite de la Concurrence, the French competition authority December 15, 2015 Royal Mail has today agreed to pay a fine of €55m (£40m) to the French competition authority, Autorite de la Concurrence, to settle a price fixing charge. The fine relates to the activities of Royal Mail's French subsidiary, GLS France, which, along with 19 other courier companies and a trade association, was said to have colluded to [...]
Bankers’ bonus rules have led to higher fixed salaries, making losses difficult to absorb in event of a downtown, warns Bank of England December 15, 2015 Regulations surrounding bankers' pay, particularly the EU bonus cap, have led to fixed salaries representing a higher proportion of total pay packets, meaning financial institutions are less capable of reacting to a downturn, the Bank of England has warned today. In its fourth quarterly bulletin for 2015, the Bank of England pointed out that not being able [...]
US inflation jumps ahead of Federal Reserve interest rate decision December 15, 2015 US inflation rose to a 2015-high in September as the impact of low energy prices began to fade. Annual inflation, as measured by the year-on-year change in the consumer price index, jumped to 0.5 per cent in November from October’s 0.2 per cent. The figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the impact of oil [...]
US interest rate hike: The Fed will raise rates at least three times in the next year, fund managers predict December 15, 2015 Tomorrow, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise US interest rates above their near-zero levels for the first time since 2006. But the changes won't end there, according to most US fund managers. Bank of America Merrill Lynch's (BoAML) December survey shows how 58 per cent of them expect at least three rate hikes to take [...]
Turmoil: Analysts cut oil forecast as glut woes intensify December 15, 2015 Citi analysts are the latest to lower their expectations for the short term future of the oil price, predicting a “very weak first quarter”. The supply glut is now widely expected to run on well into 2016 due to Opec reiterating its dedication to unrestricted pumping, Iran charging into the market once sanctions are lifted [...]
Starbucks serves up £8m in UK corporation tax after record results December 15, 2015 Starbucks served up £8m in corporation tax to the UK last year after brewing up £34.2m in pre-tax profits. The Seattle-based coffee chain has faced fierce criticism for paying minimal corporation tax since launching in Britain in 1998, after claiming to have never made a profit until last year. In its latest set of results, [...]
Bank of England: UK households can handle an interest rate hike December 15, 2015 British households are well placed to handle an increase in interest rates, the Bank of England said today. The Bank’s annual survey of 6,000 households compiled by NMG consulting found households were “in a slightly better position to cope with an increase in interest rates than they were a year ago”. The survey revealed that if interest [...]