Square IPO pop: Jack Dorsey’s shares soar 50pc on market debut calming tech bubble fears after low pricing November 19, 2015 Shares in US mobile payments company Square have made a spectacular debut, with shares opening at $11.20 on the New York Stock Exchange, 24 per cent above its initial pricing. They rocketed as much as 50 per cent, surpassing the $14 mark, before falling back down in afternoon trading to close at $13.16. The startup founded by [...]
Lonmin share price falls as shareholders approve crucial rescue plan November 19, 2015 Investors in Lonmin have provisionally approved a rescue plan to enable the embattled platinum miner to raise $407m (£266) through a share sale, as it attempts to stay afloat amid a commodity price storm. Nearly 90 per cent of shareholders backed the South African producer's rights issue, paving the way for it to sell billions of shares at a huge market [...]
Banking is less of an old boys’ club but there’s still work left to do to improve diversity in the industry November 19, 2015 A report released today has praised the banking industry for its efforts to improve diversity but cautions that there is still more to do. In particular, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) paper highlights that 31 per cent of board directors at FTSE 100 banks are women, compared to 26 per cent for FTSE 100 companies overall. [...]
ECB minutes: Bigger Eurozone QE programme now looks like ‘done deal’ November 19, 2015 The European Central Bank considered expanding its €1.1 trillion (£770bn) quantitative easing (QE) programme at its October meeting, new minutes reveal. The meeting, on the 22 October, saw the ECB’s main policy rate kept unchanged at a record low of 0.05 per cent. QE is where the central bank buys assets using newly created money – it [...]
Pfizer and Allergan speed up $150bn mega-merger talks November 19, 2015 Pfizer has hastened discussions with Allergan over a potential acquisition, according to reports. Ireland-base Allergan confirmed at the end of last month it was in talks to join forces with its US rival, but according to a source close to the matter the decision making process has picked up pace. Pfizer is said to be [...]
Manufacturing outlook deteriorates as export orders drop to three-year low – CBI industrial trends survey November 19, 2015 Manufacturers’ export orders are at the lowest for three years, new figures show, dashing hopes that an economic recovery in the Eurozone would provide a boost to the UK’s exporters. The survey of 458 firms from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) revealed that only 11 per cent said their export order books were above [...]
FCA report into HBOS collapse: Former HBOS senior staff to be investigated over collapse November 19, 2015 Former senior managers of banking group HBOS are set to be investigated following a report from banking regulators into the failed bank published yesterday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) three year report into failures at the bank found that senior managers and the board of the bank were ultimately responsible [...]
HSBC: UK homeowners are losing £29bn a year by not remortgaging November 19, 2015 Brits are losing a massive £29bn by not remortgaging onto better deals, a leading lender has said. With mortgage rates currently hovering around record lows, HSBC has calculated that homeowners who have not remortgaged onto a lower fixed rate from their standard variable rate (SVR) are losing an average of £4,000 a year. The SVRs [...]
UK house prices: Mortgage lending is steaming ahead at its fastest pace since 2008, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders November 19, 2015 Mortgage lending is in full recovery mode. The amount of mortgage lending shot up eight per cent in October compared with September to £21.8bn, according to figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) today. October was the biggest month for mortgage lending since July 2008 and takes annual mortgage lending growth to a whopping [...]
The great investment debate: Should you put your money in active or passive funds? November 19, 2015 The great investment debate typically pits passively managed funds against their actively managed counterparts. Passively managed funds give investors low-cost risk exposure without the added worry of assessing a fund manager's skills, while actively managed funds come with fees, which eat into their overall returns, but allowing fund managers to trade through market volatility to weather storms like [...]