Morgan Stanley’s first-quarter results just beat expectations April 20, 2015 Morgan Stanley has followed in the footsteps of rivals Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan with a better-than-expected set of first quarter results, which further signal the revival of the struggling investment banking sector. It said net income jumped to $2.31bn (£1.55bn) in the first quarter of 2015, compared to $1.45bn a year earlier. This works [...]
Neil Woodford’s new fund oversubscribed by 10pc – despite the team already increasing the size by £300m April 20, 2015 Neil Woodford's latest investment trust has been oversubscribed – having alread been nearly doubled from its initial figure. The Woodford Patient Capital Trust invests in early stage and early growth companies, along with a mix of blue chip stocks. Initially the team had decided the size of the closed-ended fund would be set at [...]
IMF says Greek talks gaining momentum as default looms April 20, 2015 An International Monetary Fund (IMF) official has said the Greek debt negotiations have stepped up a gear recently – and there's hope for a positive outcome as the prospect of a default draws closer. "There has been a little bit more impetus in the negotiations between the three institutions and the Greek government for several days," the [...]
Petrofac share price falls 13 per cent amid costs hike April 20, 2015 Shares in Petrofac dived today, after the oilfield services provider announced an additional £130m pre-tax loss for its Shetland gas project in the North Sea. Shares in Petrofac fell as much as 13 per cent to 875.28p in mid-morning trade on the London Stock Exchange. The firm said the final stages of the project had [...]
Revealed: How the mansion tax could cost taxpayers £175m April 20, 2015 More than 120,000 households could face a bill of up to £4,800 each to have their property revalued thanks to Ed Miliband's mansion tax. The total cost to homeowners of revaluing their properties would come to around £110m, according to upmarket estate agent Savills. But it's not only owners of high-end property who are in [...]
European markets shrug off Greece fears April 20, 2015 European markets started the day stronger, shaking off worries over Greece's ability to negotiate with its lenders. The FTSE 100 rose one per cent in early trading, while Germany's Dax jumped 1.18 per cent and France's Cac rose 0.9 per cent. The gains followed an announcement overnight by China's central bank that it [...]
Eni chief exec Claudio Descalzi says Saudi Arabia has lost control of prices April 20, 2015 Eni's chief executive Claudio Descalzi has previously warned under-investment could lead oil prices to hit $200 per barrel – now he's back with another ominous forecast for the world's tumultuous oil market. Speaking to the Financial Times, Descalzi said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) was neither willing nor able to control oil prices. Since the 1980s Opec, [...]
HSS Hire reports pre-tax loss of £8.5m in its first results since IPO April 20, 2015 The numbers Tool hire giant HSS Hire Group has reported a loss before tax of £8.5m for the year to 27 December 2014. Revenue was up 25 per cent to £284m, while operating profit rose 10.3 per cent to £23.6m. Why it's interesting Today is something of a landmark for HSS – it's the group's first [...]
Rio Tinto April 20, 2015 The figures xxx Why it's interesting The FTSE giant was the target of a failed takeover bid by rival Glencore and with the six month cooling period for offers having just come to an end, investors will be eager to see what kind of shape the miner is in with speculation that a new offer [...]
Greek debt deadline: Mario Draghi urges Greece to hurry as default looms April 20, 2015 European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi has said the Greek government needs to do more work and do it urgently to conclude a deal on extra bailout cash. “More work, much more work is needed now and it’s urgent,” he said at the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank spring meetings in Washington. “We all want [...]