Time limit on financial charges could save ex-HBOS bankers millions November 15, 2015 A long-awaited report into the collapse of HBOS is not expected to bring financial sanctions against any of those involved, due to a six-year time limit on the regulator bringing charges on information received. The delayed report, due Thursday, is set to criticise the management and regulators responsible for the bank’s taxpayer bailout in 2008. HBOS [...]
Mark Carney warned over gilt market instability risks November 15, 2015 A decline in bond market liquidity could threaten financial stability, the chairman of the Treasury select committee has warned. Treasury chairman Andrew Tyrie has written to Bank of England governor Mark Carney, laying out his concerns and asking for the Financial Policy Committee's view on the risk of declining liquidity in the bond market. Tyrie highlighted particular [...]
Attention turns to final borrowing figures ahead of 2015 Autumn Statement and Comprehensive Spending Review November 15, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne could come under added pressure this Friday when the last state borrowing figures before next week’s Autumn Statement and Comprehensive Spending Review are published. Consultancy Capital Economics expects borrowing for October to come in at £6.5bn. While it would be substantially below last year’s October deficit of £9.4bn, it still puts the Treasury [...]
New doubts for future of Tata Steel’s Scunthorpe plant, as European chief warns the site must be sold by April November 15, 2015 Tata Steel’s European chief executive Karl-Ulrich Kohler has warned that its Scunthorpe steel plant must be sold by April as it has no future as part of the company’s business. The company has been seeking a buyer for the plant as part of a wider sale of its long products business, which manufactures items like [...]
Standard Chartered chief executive Bill Winters buys another £1m in bank’s shares November 15, 2015 Standard Chartered chief executive Bill Winters is putting his money where his mouth is – by buying another £1m worth of his shares in his struggling company. Winters, a former JP Morgan investment banker who took over from the Asia-facing bank's previous chief executive Peter Sands in June, acquired 168,000 shares at 599 pence each, increasing the [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index suffers worst week since August on mining companies November 13, 2015 The FTSE 100 endured its worst week since August, closing 1.03 per cent down on Friday at 6,115 points, dragged down today by G4S and Rolls-Royce. The UK's top blue-chip index closed at its lowest point since 2 October, six weeks ago. Rolls-Royce continued on from sharp falls yesterday, dropping 4.19 per cent to 514.5p per share, after falling [...]
Oil prices: IEA suggests global oil stockpile has hit record high as demand soars to five-year high November 13, 2015 The world’s oil inventory has soared to new record levels, according to the latest report from leading energy forecaster International Energy Agency (IEA), which shows stockpiles reaching an unprecedented 3bn barrels. The record high comes as plunging oil prices have sent demand soaring to a five-year high, the forecaster writes in its monthly report: Stockpiles [...]
Amazon launches Pantry as it seeks a bigger slice of UK grocery market November 13, 2015 A week after it launched its first physical bookshop, Amazon is taking its retro approach further with the opening of its 'Pantry' service in the UK tomorrow. In a bid to take home a bigger slice of the £177.5bn UK grocery market, Pantry will offer Amazon Prime customers next-day delivery on over 4,000 "everyday essentials", including major food and drink brands, household supplies, child [...]
Fossil to acquire wearable tech maker Misfit for $260m November 13, 2015 Watchmaker Fossil yesterday agreed to buy wearable tech company Misfit for $260m as it expands into the smartwatch and wearables space. Fossil will continue to produce Misfit health trackers, while incorporating Misfit's technology into its watches. Fossil says the acquisition will allow it to "scale Misfit's technology across Fossil" while giving Misfit new distribution channels and boosting its R&D. Misfit, best known for [...]
Auto Trader share price rises to all-time high after first dividend announced November 13, 2015 Shares in Auto Trader leapt to an all-time high this morning after the company announced its first dividend payment. The online car marketplace announced it will pay a maiden dividend of 0.5p in January 2016 after driving half-year profits to over four times those made during the same period in 2014. The UK's biggest car classifieds website revved pre-tax profits up to £74.7m [...]