Mortgage approvals just jumped to a six-month high in March April 28, 2015 Mortgage approvals hit a six-month high in March, but they're still about 14 per cent lower than a year ago, according to data released by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) today. Mortgage approvals for house purchase rose to 38,751 in March, up from 37,453 in February and the largest amount since September last year. "The [...]
RBS spin-off Williams & Glyn loses chief executive John Maltby ahead of IPO April 28, 2015 Williams & Glyn, the challenger bank being carved out from RBS as a condition of the latter's bailout during the financial crisis, has lost its chief executive before it has even launched. John Maltby will be replaced by Jim Brown, currently chief executive of Ulster Bank. Maltby will take up his former role [...]
Standard Chartered profit dives 22 per cent in the first quarter April 28, 2015 British bank Standard Chartered has said that profit before tax fell by 22 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, as it quashed speculation that it could be eyeing a move east. Pre-tax profit fell to $1.47bn (£96.2) in the first three months of the year, largely due to the performance of its corporate and [...]
UK Oil & Gas share price falls as it admits Horse Hill licence will expire within months April 28, 2015 UK Oil & Gas, aka UKOG, aka the "Gatwick gusher" has admitted its licences to explore the area around Gatwick Airport where it discovered 100bn barrels of oil are due to expire shortly – one in the next six months. The news prompted UKOG's share price to tumble more than seven per cent to 2.86p [...]
BP’s share price shows it’s weathering the oil price crisis – in charts April 28, 2015 BP has suffered under the pressure of falling oil prices, as the continued low cost of the black stuff reshapes the oil industry. The company’s results, released today, showed a 20 per cent drop in profits – which, amazingly, was still above market expectations. Analysts expected earnings could fall to $1.28bn (£840m), but in the event, they [...]
UK economic growth slows to 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 April 28, 2015 The last piece of key economic data spun out ahead of the General Election on May 7 has shown the economy slowed by more than expected in the first quarter. The Office for National Statistics said today the economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the first three months of this year, which was below [...]
Workers over the age of 50 are disproportionately likely to feel their career has stalled April 28, 2015 Workers over the age of 50 are disproportionately likely to feel their career has stalled, according to new research. In fact, just 12 per cent feel their career is progressing, compared with a third of those under 50. The study, by Axa PPP Healthcare, suggested that a third of those over 50 felt they didn't [...]
Ex Morrisons chief Dalton Philips pockets £1m bonus April 28, 2015 Former Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips, whose last year in the role saw the supermarket cut its dividend amid large losses, is being given a £1m bonus for 2014/15. This comes on top of his base salary of £850,000, and other benefits including his pension. In total, Philips will take home almost £2.1m. [...]
Win or draw? Alliance Trust share price rises as Elliott Advisors withdraws resolutions – but gets two seats on the board April 28, 2015 Elliott Advisors will call this a win – Alliance Trust may settle for something rather less emphatic. The day before what was set to be a heated annual general meeting (AGM), the financial services company appears to have reached a truce with one of its largest shareholders by giving it two seats on the board, [...]
BP share price edges up as profits plummet 20 per cent, but still beat expectations April 28, 2015 BP's share price rose slightly this morning, even as the company's results suffered from the effects of low oil prices. The energy giant’s underlying replacement cost profit was down 20 per cent for the three months ending 31 March, compared with the same period a year earlier. That sounds like terrible news, but the company [...]