Sainsbury’s believes chief exec Mike Coupe’s travel fears are over after Egypt drama April 29, 2015 Sainsbury’s said last night it was confident that chief executive Mike Coupe no longer faced travel restrictions to countries with extradition treaties with Egypt after flying to the country this weekend to appeal against allegations of embezzlement. In a bizarre case dating back to Sainsbury’s disastrous foray into the country 16 years ago, Coupe [...]
Growth in American economy freezes due to the bad weather April 29, 2015 US economic growth stalled in the first three months of 2015, growing just 0.2 per cent compared to the same time last year. Growth was 2.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2014, and economists had expected the economy to expand one per cent in the first quarter of 2015. The slowdown has been [...]
New Greek negotiator Euclid Tsakalotos heads to Brussels for bailout discussions April 29, 2015 Greek officials will meet with representatives of its creditors in Brussels today, as the country rushes to avoid bankruptcy. The Greek delegation will be led by Oxford-educated Euclid Tsakalotos, City A.M. understands. He has usurped finance minister Yanis Varoufakis as Greece’s main negotiator, after a meeting between Varoufakis and Eurozone finance ministers last week turned [...]
Nasdaq apologises for letting Twitter results fly out ahead of time, blames Shareholder.com April 29, 2015 Nasdaq was yesterday forced to apologise for the early release of Twitter’s earnings, blaming an “operational” error that lasted just 45 seconds. Twitter’s share price plunged nearly nine per cent yesterday, following a 20 per cent tumble on Tuesday when the social media site’s below-estimate quarterly earnings were announced early. Nasdaq blamed its [...]
Troubled Barclays braced for famously tough incoming new chairman John McFarlane April 29, 2015 It is hard to keep a straight face when calling PPI compensation and litigation costs “one-offs” at any of the big banks nowadays. Yet seven years on from the start of the financial crisis, Barclays and the other big banks are still treating the extraordinary costs as unusual items each quarter. Yesterday Barclays [...]
Consumer optimism gives mixed signals ahead of General Election as confidence index plateaus April 29, 2015 Consumer confidence is high going into the General Election, new figures show today, but has failed to improve on last month. The consumer confidence index produced by market researchers GfK remained at a score of four in April. Despite confidence failing to improve on March, it is at its highest level for over a [...]
Investment bank Liberum reports sparkling results on record year April 29, 2015 Liberum, the employee-owned investment bank, has enjoyed a record year, with profits after bonuses of £8.2m (£0.7m the previous year) from revenues of £55m. The bank, which lost its popular chief executive Simon Stilwell earlier this year, raised a total of £1.8bn for investment banking clients. Chairman and new chief executive Shane Le Prevost said: [...]
UK house prices climb to new heights in April due to “surplus in demand which is outpacing supply” April 29, 2015 House prices climbed higher in April, new figures from a major mortgage lender reveal. Annual house price growth edged up to 5.2 per cent in April from March’s 5.1 per cent. The average UK house price is now a £193,048 – the highest on record. Housing analysts blame a lack of supply for [...]
Countrywide blames General Election uncertainty for first quarter slowdown April 29, 2015 Britain’s biggest estate agency Countrywide warned that market transactions would be “significantly below” last year’s levels, because of uncertainty over the outcome of the election causing prospective buyers to put their plans on hold. The company, which owns estate agencies including Hamptons, Blundells and John D Wood, said total income dropped by two per cent [...]
Spirit Pub raises a glass to fizzing rise in profits as Greene King merger looms April 29, 2015 Spirit Pub Company toasted a strong rise in earnings yesterday after it reported a 12 per cent gain in half year profits. The pubs group, which has 1,211 boozers concentrated in London and the south east, added £3m of pre-tax profits to take the haul for the six months ending 7 March to £25m. Strong [...]