Global finance chiefs urge policy makers to ward off bubble risks May 18, 2015 Chief executives, chairmen and senior executives of some of the largest banks in Europe and the US have warned of the potential for unforeseen risks caused by policy makers attempting to avoid future financial crises. Douglas Flint, group chairman of HSBC, UBS chairman Axel Weber, Deutsche Bank's co-chief executive Anshu Jain, Larry Fink, chief [...]
Markets hit as Greece letter shows just how close it came to defaulting on a €750m IMF payment May 18, 2015 The FTSE 100 started the day on a positive note, edging back above the 7,000 mark – but that was quickly curtailed, after the publication of a letter from Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras to International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde showed just how close it came to defaulting on a €750m (£544m) payment [...]
Bwin.party share price rises after 888 Holdings takeover bid May 18, 2015 Shares in bwin.party soared over six per cent in early trading after rival 888 Holdings confirmed it had submitted a bid for all of bwin.party's share capital. Read more: 888 pays out as strong results give investors special dividend By contrast, 888's share price fell over five per cent, with investors seemingly not sold on its plans. 888 [...]
Mitie share price rises despite homecare and house building struggles May 18, 2015 The figures Shares in FTSE 250-listed waste management outsourcer Mitie opened over three per cent higher at 297p this morning after it heralded a year of "significant progress" with rises in revenue, profit and earnings. In its results for the year ending 31 March, Mitie reported a 5.8 per cent rise in revenue to £2.3bn [...]
Acquisitions send Babcock pretax profit soaring 43 per cent May 18, 2015 The figures Shares in engineering and support services group Babcock opened 2.52 per cent higher, at 1,108p, after results showed revenue climbed 20 per cent to £3.9bn in the year to March 2015, up from £3.32bn the year before. Similarly, pre-tax profit rose 43 per cent to £313.1m, up from £218.8m a year earlier. Nonetheless, net debt rose to £1.32bn – up [...]
Barclays to settle £2bn forex-rigging case May 17, 2015 Barclays Bank is closing in on a major £2bn settlement with regulators around the world, drawing to a close its role in the deeply damaging foreign exchange markets rigging scandal. The bank, whose chief executive is Antony Jenkins, is attempting to settle with a number of regulators simultaneously. Last November it pulled out of a [...]
Agents bet on UK housing market activity boost after General Election May 17, 2015 Agents are expecting housing market activity to pick up following a decisive outcome to the General Election. “Now the months of uncertainty are finally over, we are already witnessing confidence returning to the market with buyers and sellers in a more informed position to make the decisions they were putting off,” said Andrew Weir [...]
Allianz growth plan on track as premiums grow in first quarter May 17, 2015 Premiums grew by five per cent at Allianz UK in the first quarter of 2015, as the German-owned insurer continues with plans to become a £3bn firm by the end of 2018. Gross written premium went up to £555m, from £528m in the same period of 2014, and combined ratio improved to 97.7 per cent [...]
Britain could be about to enter brief deflation May 17, 2015 The UK could enter deflation for the first time since comparable records began when figures are released tomorrow morning. Yet most economists believe inflation’s venture into negative territory will be short-lived, given that oil and global food prices have halted their declines. The consumer price index (CPI) – the basket of goods used to measure [...]
Chairman of JCB Lord Bamford says economy would not be affected by Brexit May 17, 2015 The chairman of one of Britain’s largest manufacturers said today that Britain’s trade relationships would be unaffected if the country were to vote to leave the European Union in an in/out referendum. “We are the fifth or sixth largest economy in the world. We could exist on our own – peacefully and sensibly. We could [...]