EasyJet share price slumps despite rise in profits as airline seeks to fly over April May 12, 2015 Shares in easyJet hit turbulence yesterday, despite the company announcing a pre-tax profit for the half year up to 31 March. The low-cost carrier announced a pre-tax profit of £7m for the six-month period, but its share price slumped, closing down 9.77 per cent, due to profit fears caused by a difficult April. [...]
Insurer Hiscox’s growth lifted by fewer disasters in first months of 2015 May 12, 2015 International specialist insurer Hiscox has reported a 12 per cent quarterly increase in gross written premiums (GWP), boosted by currency movements and fewer disasters. The London-listed company said premiums for the three months ending 31 March rose to £561.7m from £501.6m at the same time last year. Chief executive Bronek Masojada said: “It’s been an [...]
Saga share sale increased after demand grows May 12, 2015 Advidors were forced to increase the size of the Saga share sale to 122.5m yesterday evening after strong demand. The shares will be priced at 195p. Acromas had earlier announced that it intended to sell a minimum of 77m shares in specialist insurance group Saga, representing a seven per cent stake in the company. The [...]
Sales of Mini five-door models motoring as BMW hits April high May 12, 2015 BMW car sales rose 5.6 per cent, to a record 148,896 last month, as strong demand for its 2-Series van in Europe and offroad vehicles in the US helped offset sluggish Chinese demand. Meanwhile, deliveries of the Mini brand rose 28 per cent, to 26,766, due to full availability of the new three- and five-door [...]
Sweden set to loosen monetary policy again as deflation strikes May 12, 2015 Prices fell again in Sweden in April despite policymakers’ attempts to banish deflation through very loose monetary policy, official figures showed yesterday. Consumer prices fell 0.2 per cent on the year, sliding after two months of positive inflation numbers. Policymakers at the Riksbank held interest rates at minus 0.25 per cent at their April meeting, [...]
ECB raises emergency loan limit to £57bn for Greek banks May 12, 2015 The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised its emergency loan limit for Greek banks by €1.1bn (£0.8). The Emergency Liquidity Assistance lifeline, which is provided by the Bank of Greece, is now worth €80bn (£57bn). The decision to raise the level was passed by the ECB's governing council today, and comes a day [...]
Tesco closes remaining Homeplus stores with loss of 450 jobs in Bracknell, Cheshire, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester and Preston May 12, 2015 Tesco is bringing to an end its non-grocery Homeplus stores across the UK with the closure of its remaining locations. The last six of the retailer's Homeplus stores will close with the loss of 450 jobs, bringing to an end its venture in non-food retailing in the UK as it seeks to turnaround huge losses. Stores [...]
Greece raided reserves at IMF to meet debt repayment deadline May 12, 2015 Greece had to raid emergency reserves in its holding account at creditor the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to meet the deadline for its sizeable €750m (£544m) repayment. An official told Reuters the cash-strapped country had been forced to tap into around €650m (£467m) from its holding account with the organisation. "We made use [...]
EasyJet share price falls after it warns on tough outlook May 12, 2015 The figures: Budget airliner easyJet made £7m profit in the six months to March, up from a loss of £53m last year. Additionally revenue per seat – a measure of profitability – rose 2.6 per cent on a constant currency basis. Nonetheless it shares were trading down 8.5 per cent at 1,677p this morning after it warned on its [...]
Eurozone banks are at risk of failing now as much as they were in 2008, new research finds May 12, 2015 If you think the European Central Bank and Bank of England’s stress tests have made Europe’s banking crash proof, think again. Despite the changes to the banking system, many institutions are still as vulnerable as they were before the 2008 crash, according to research by the University of Portsmouth. Banks in Italy, France, and Spain [...]