FTSE 350 boardroom diversity is up as women made up four in ten new directors appointed last year August 3, 2015 More women than ever are being appointed to UK boards, as four in 10 of new non-executive directors last year were female. The composition of boardrooms is changing dramatically, with the percentage of women joining boards quadrupling over the past seven years, from 11 per cent in 2007 to 39 per cent in 2014, shows [...]
British investment in the US continues to rise, boosting jobs across all states August 3, 2015 The UK is the US's number one foreign investor, now accounting for almost a fifth of total funding pumped into the country. Read more: The UK is finally catching up with US in biotech investment – venture capital funding more than doubled last year According to the most recent figures released by the CBI, [...]
Brent crude oil drops below $51 per barrel for the first time since January August 3, 2015 The price of Brent crude dipped as much as 3.4 per cent in afternoon trading to $50.43 per barrel, its lowest since the January this year, as the commodities crisis continued to weigh on the market. The news drove the rouble down 1.67 per cent against the dollar, to $0.01593. Russia's economy is heavily dependent [...]
Greek shares plummet as the Athens Stock Exchange reopens August 3, 2015 Greece's main stock index continued to haemorrhage today after the cash-strapped country's markets were opened for the first time in five weeks. By this afternoon the Athens Stock Exchange had recovered slightly from the earlier sell-off and was down 16.3 per cent at 667.46 points. It posted its worst ever one-day performance after only a few minutes of trading this [...]
UK manufacturing growth ticks up in July August 3, 2015 The widely watched Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 51.9 in July, ahead of the previous month's reading of 51.4, and above the crucial 50 mark which indicates growth. But it remained well below the average of 54.3 recorded since April 2013, when the UK economy was beginning to bounce back from the [...]
Government sells off more Lloyd shares, taking its stake below 14 per cent August 3, 2015 The government has sold off another one per cent of its shares in bailed-out bank Lloyds, taking the taxpayer's stake below 14 per cent. The latest sale means so far it's raised nearly £14bn for the Treasury's coffers through a trickle of share sales, which were initially announced in December. "It’s fantastic news that we’ve sold [...]
Purchasing Managers’ Index: Eurozone manufacturers shrug off Greek debt crisis in July August 3, 2015 The Eurozone's manufacturing sector continued to grow modestly in July, suggesting any effect from the Greek debt crisis remained limited. Markit's Eurozone manufacturing PMI hit 52.4 in July, ahead of the earlier flash estimate of 52.2, and also above the crucial 50 mark which indicates growth. This also meant it managed to hold close to June's [...]
Commodity prices hit corporate spending – global capex down at least 10per cent dragged by sliding energy and mining sector August 3, 2015 The long slide of commodities prices is taking its toll on corporate spending, it seems: global expenditure is predicted to shrink by at least 10 per cent this year, according to new research from rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P). Spending is expected to continue falling well into next year, according to S&P’s forecast, before [...]
Dragon Oil share price surges after Enoc wins backing of company’s minority owners August 3, 2015 Shares in Dragon Oil opened nine per cent higher to 799p this morning after Emirates National Oil Company secured enough shareholder votes to privatise Dragon Oil this weekend, having revised their offer for each Dragon Oil share to 800 pence “to give all parties certainty,” the company said in a statement. Increasing the takeover bid [...]
RSA share price soars 12 per cent after Zurich confirms takeover talks August 3, 2015 Shares in London-listed RSA Insurance Group soared per cent this morning as Swiss rival Zurich confirmed it was considering a takeover bid. Zurich is reportedly mulling a bid in excess of £5.5bn for the business as new rules come in governing how much money insurers must set aside to protect against potential market shocks. [...]