Public sector borrowing falls as income tax receipts hit highest level since records began in 1997 July 21, 2015 The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said income tax receipts rose by 2.5 per cent in June to £11.5bn, the highest level since records began in 1997. Read more: July Budget 2015 at a glance At the same time, corporation tax receipts jumped 13.9 per cent to £1.7bn, also the highest amount on record. The figures, [...]
Can GVC trump 888 over Bwin.party? Rivals square up over gambling site acquisition July 21, 2015 Who has the best hand when it comes to taking over Bwin.party? The gambling site may have secured a deal from 888, but now rival group GVC Holdings has confirmed it is in talks about how to get in on the action. Last week 888 made an offer for the business of 104.09p [...]
IG Group share price slides as chief executive Tim Howkins resigns July 21, 2015 Shares in IG Group slid 4.5 per cent to 771p this morning after Tim Howkins said he will retire from his role as chief executive and a director in October, as the company revealed that its full-year profits had been dented by the Swiss franc crisis earlier this year. The financial spread betting firm said Peter [...]
Royal Mail posts flat revenue as letter sending continues to fall July 21, 2015 The figures The continued drop in letter-sending held back Royal Mail in the three months to 28 June, with revenue at the FTSE 100-listed company's core parcels and letters business falling two per cent, primarily thanks to a five per cent fall in the addressed letter volumes in the UK. Even the benefit of the [...]
Watchdog visits Barclays four times a week as FCA takes on Barclaycard oversight July 20, 2015 Barclays was visited by UK regulators on 186 separate occasions last year – more than twice as many times as the next most-visited lender, figures published yesterday show. The bank met with supervisors from the Financial Conduct Authority at its offices roughly four out of every five working days in 2014. The next most visited, [...]
UK house prices to outstrip wages this year due to “chronic lack of properties being put up for sale” July 20, 2015 A shortage of homes is set to ensure house prices rise faster than incomes this year, a think tank has warned today. The Centre for Economics and Business Research has revised its estimate for price growth in 2015 more than three times to 4.7 per cent, up from its initial forecast of 1.5 per cent [...]
City leads UK to top spot among financial services exporters July 20, 2015 The City has helped the UK to become the biggest net exporter of financial services in the world, a new report reveals today. The UK exported $95bn (£62bn) of financial services more than it imported in 2014, according to the report from TheCityUK, a lobby group for the City. It is 4.3 [...]
George Osborne set for a grilling over new bank tax July 20, 2015 George Osborne is expected to face a grilling from MPs today over the new bank surcharge – set to be introduced next year – when he appears before a Treasury select committee for the first time since the Budget. Mark Garnier, a Conservative minister on the Treasury select committee, told City A.M. that while [...]
Greek banks dodge disaster after a last minute loan from Europe July 20, 2015 Greece averted further financial ruin yesterday after meeting a major €4.2bn (£2.9bn) payment to the European Central Bank (ECB), made possible by a loan from the EU. If Greece had missed it, the ECB was expected to completely cut off emergency lending to Greek banks, which economists said would be “D-day” for the banking system. [...]
Commodities crash to 11-year low as deflation fears grow: Latest price slump complicates backdrop for interest rate hikes July 20, 2015 Global commodity prices have slumped amid a glut of supply and low demand – and now experts are foreseeing the prospect of deflation in the West. A basket of commodities measured by the Bloomberg commodities index has fallen to an 11-year low, and the index is down 42 per cent since its peak in [...]