Barclays and UK fraud office eye deal over criminal probe into Qatar July 21, 2015 Barclays is widely believed to be in talks with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over a potential deal to resolve a long-running criminal probe into the bank’s dealings with Qatari investors in 2008. The SFO has proposed the possibility of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) linked to the bank’s fundraising activities during the financial crisis. [...]
Mark Carney points to interest rate hike at the turn of this year July 21, 2015 The Bank of England will need to decide around the turn of the year whether the time is right to start to raise interest rates from their current record low, its governor Mark Carney said last night. Carney, speaking at an event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank, said the UK economy still faced [...]
Ashley Madison’s hacking affair: Is a London IPO now a fling too far after data breach? July 21, 2015 Ryainair boss Michael O’Leary is no shrinking violet, but even Ashley Madison, the controversial adultery website hacked on Monday, proved too much for the colourful Irishman. The Ryanair chief was offered €120,000 (£84,350) by Ashley Madison last year to paint its logo on one of its planes, but turned them down. The incident [...]
Arbuthnot warns over higher bank tax: “This will act as a brake on challenger sector” July 21, 2015 Challenger bank Arbuthnot Banking Group yesterday warned higher taxes on bank profits will hurt lending to the real economy The firm, owner of private bank Arbuthnot Latham and half-owner of listed entity Secure Trust Bank, also called on chancellor George Osborne to calculate bank taxes on the size of their balance sheets. The [...]
Stricter visa rules to give firms headache amid skills shortage July 21, 2015 Proposed changes to rules governing who can work in the UK threaten to exacerbate the skills shortage facing employers, the head of a major recruiting body has warned. “Our data show that almost all businesses are operating at capacity and want to take on more staff to meet demand, but the reality is that chronic [...]
Rothesay Life racks up biggest buy-in of 2015 with new £1.6bn CAAPS deal July 21, 2015 Insurance firm Rothesay Life has completed a £1.6bn bulk annuity deal with the Civil Aviation Authority Pensions Scheme (CAAPS), the second largest buy-in ever secured by a UK pension scheme. The arrangement is also the largest de-risking transaction completed so far this year. Rothesay Life has now written £3.4bn of new business year-to-date in 2015. [...]
Apple Watch sales “beat internal forecasts”, selling more than iPad or iPhone in its first quarter July 21, 2015 As Apple released the first set of results from the tech giant to include Apple Watch sales, the one question everyone wanted answered was: How has the Apple Watch fared? A flop or a success for the company? Curious investors were left to wonder, however, as Apple did not break out unit sales for its [...]
Apple earnings: Profits soar as China continues to boost iPhone 6 sales – but share price slides seven per cent July 21, 2015 Despite beating analysts' sales and revenue expectations again, Apple share fell by seven per cent after the company reported selling fewer iPhones than forecast and lowered fourth quarter profit guidance. The figures Smashing through what is traditionally its slowest sales period, Apple has reported a quarterly record-high revenue of $49.6bn, beating analysts' forecasts for the [...]
Yahoo beats analysts’ expectations with fastest revenue growth since 2010 July 21, 2015 The figures At $1.24bn, Yahoo's sales smashed analysts' expectations. The company was expected to report a sinking revenue, with analysts forecasting revenues of $1.03bn, but instead reported a 15 per cent growth against the same period last year. Earnings are squeezed, however, with the company reporting earnings per share of $0.16, against expectations of $0.18. [...]
Tesla Motor’s share price down as analysts expect growth will “disappoint” July 21, 2015 Tesla shares were down after a UBS analyst downgraded it to “sell”, expecting disappointing growth from the company’s electric car and home battery segments. Shares slid 4.7 per cent for Tesla, the electric car manufacturer that has attracted a cult following, and were down to $269.10. UBS analyst Colin Langan wrote in a statement to [...]