Bonds rocked again after Mario Draghi’s volatility warning June 4, 2015 European traders faced extraordinary levels of volatility yesterday, just a day after European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi’s warning that markets should “get used to it”. The volatility of the German bund, an interest-paying IOU from the German government, was the biggest surprise, given that it is one of the more stable bonds. The [...]
Wages in London grow faster than in the rest of the country June 4, 2015 Wages in the capital are increasing faster than they have in nearly a year, according to a new survey out today. The survey, carried out by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and KPMG, found that wages for permanent employees in London increased for the twenty-fourth successive month in May, marking an uninterrupted, two-year trend of successive [...]
Odey Asset Management invites rivals to gatecrash Playtech’s takeover of Plus500 June 4, 2015 Plus500’s top shareholder Odey Asset Management yesterday rebuked a £460m deal for the company from Teddy Sagi’s Playtech and said it would welcome offers from rival bidders. Odey, which was founded by hedge fund investor Crispin Odey, has amassed a 25 per cent stake in the troubled spreadbetting company alongside JP Morgan, which owns [...]
Merger for UK music startups Songkick and Crowdsurge June 4, 2015 Two UK-based music platforms said they were teaming up yesterday, as concert app Songkick and ticket sales website Crowdsurge announced a 50/50 merger. In an announcement on its website, Songkick said that the combined company would keep the name Songkick and become the “largest artist-ticketing service in the world.” According to Songkick, the company aims [...]
Fitch: It is still too difficult to compare banks June 4, 2015 Investors cannot fairly compare banks’ capital buffers and financial soundness because the rules allow them too much flexibility in how they report their numbers, analysts at credit ratings agency Fitch warned yesterday. The biggest banks calculate their risk-weighted assets (RWAs) based on internal models of risk, which are then approved by regulators. But the models [...]
Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe misses out on payday perks June 4, 2015 Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe missed out on an annual bonus last year after the supermarket chain failed to meet sales and profit targets. The retailer’s annual report published yesterday revealed that Coupe’s annual pay package dropped to £1.5m in the year to March, down from £2m the previous year, when he was still commercial [...]
Pets at Home is keeping pooches happy as it posts surge in profits June 4, 2015 Pets at Home yesterday posted a record set of full-year results and said it enjoyed a strong start to the year as owners splashed out more on grooming services and special nutrition products for their pets. Underlying core earnings for the year to 26 March rose 10 per cent to £121m, in line with expectations, [...]
Investors revolt over Morrisons’ ex-chief Dalton Philips’s pay June 4, 2015 Morrisons’ new management pledged to review its pay policies after the supermarket faced a shareholder revolt yesterday over the size of the bonus awarded to its ousted chief executive Dalton Philips. More than a third of shareholders (35.6 per cent) rejected the retailer’s remuneration report, according to proxy voting results revealed at its annual [...]
Savills says housing shortfall to reach 1m without more supply June 4, 2015 The housing shortfall in England is set to reach 1m homes within 10 years, according to new research from a leading estate agent. Savills said that England faces an annual housing shortfall of 100,000, a problem that the estate agent said can only be solved by the government boosting the supply of development land in high-demand locations [...]
Smith & Nephew share price tilts south as medical giant pulls hip device June 4, 2015 Medical device manufacturer Smith & Nephew was forced to announce its plans to withdraw one of its hip-replacement systems as it required too many post-operative follow-ups. The 46mm model in question will be withdrawn from its Birmingham Hip Resurfacing system due to concerns it does not meet the standards set by health watchdog, Nice. [...]