Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras “confident on deal” despite Syriza rumblings June 23, 2015 Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras will meet with European officials in Brussels today as part of the attempt to hammer out an agreement over his country’s debts. Read more: What Yanis Varoufakis can learn from a real game theory master The Greek government yesterday expressed confidence that the country’s parliament would approve a [...]
Productivity puzzle solved? Productivity set to increase by over 10 per cent over the next five years June 23, 2015 Britons’ disposable income will be driven up from an increase in productivity over the next five years, but employment growth will not follow the same upward trend, according to research out today. Economists at Oxford Economics are predicting a dramatic turnaround with significant improvements forecast between 2015 and 2020. Productivity will rise by 10.7 per [...]
Motif Bio raises £22m as it tries to speed the progress of new drug June 23, 2015 Just two months after first listing, Motif Bio reached another milestone yesterday as it announced a £22m capital injection, raised through the placing of 44m new shares. The Aim-listed biopharmaceutical company also revealed it had appointed Zeus Capital as its nominated adviser and joint broker, with immediate effect. Motif Bio, which floated on the junior [...]
Proteome share price dips after placing to increase funds June 23, 2015 Aim-listed Proteome Sciences has raised £2.5m through the placing of over 13.8m shares at a price of 18p each, the firm announced yesterday. The company said it will use the funds from the placing to increase capacity and shorten lead times to ensure the group can “continue to meet the significant increase in demand for [...]
UK property prices: Property sales tick up in May – but the outlook is uncertain June 23, 2015 The number of UK residential properties sold climbed in May, new data show. A total of 98,540 properties changed hands, according to figures released by HMRC yesterday. It marks a rise on April’s 97,610. However the market is slower than it was a year ago when 101,710 properties were sold. The figures translate to a [...]
Cole Commission calls for an overhaul of export approach June 23, 2015 A review of the UK’s export industry has called for cabinet-level political leadership to boost firms’ access to foreign markets. The proposals suggested in the Cole Commission published today also include a public procurement strategy to encourage firms that sell to the government to help small and medium-sized UK firms start up their export operations. [...]
FTSE 100 riding high as Greek deal fuels Eurozone – London Report June 23, 2015 Britain’s top share index edged higher yesterday, lagging a Greece-fuelled rally in Eurozone shares as weak results from outsourcing company Bunzl dragged on gains. There was also little cheer from the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) monthly industrial trends survey, which showed British factory orders grew this month at their weakest pace in almost two [...]
Nasdaq hits a fresh peak and US dollar rises – New York Report June 23, 2015 US stocks ended with slight gains yesterday, with the Nasdaq eking out another record close while investors continued to await clarity on whether Greece could reach a deal to prevent defaulting on its loans. The day’s action was quiet, with trading volume below average. While energy shares rose alongside a jump in the price of [...]
Netflix share price jumps two per cent after share split approved by board June 23, 2015 Netflix’s shares have risen two per cent in after-hour trading after its board approved a stock split. The split will take the form of a a stock dividend, giving an extra six shares of common stock for each single outstanding common stock share. Netflix said it would begin trading at the post-split price on 15 [...]
Standard and Poor’s upgrades British Airways’s outlook despite uncertainty over parent company IAG’s bid for Aer Lingus June 23, 2015 Standard and Poors (S&P) has upgraded British Airways’s (BA) outlook to positive from stable. The ratings agency changed BA’s rating to BB after assessing the company’s finances. S&P said: profitability was materially above our expectations in 2014 and we expect it to remain strong for 2015-2016. It did emphasise, however, that BA’s rating was constrained [...]