UK employment rate hit record high of 73.4 per cent in February April 17, 2015 Britain's employment rate has risen to its highest level since comparable records began around 44 years ago, which could provide a boost to the Tories and Lib Dems as they gear up for the General Election. The final jobs and earnings before the election, released today by the Office for National Statistics, showed the number of people [...]
Serco share price dips as investors back rights issue April 17, 2015 Some good news for Serco: the troubled outsourcer said this morning its shareholders had largely supported a rights issue, with acceptances for 520m of 549m (that's 95 per cent) of new ordinary shares offered. The one-for-one rights issue, priced at 101p per new ordinary share, closed on Thursday. This morning, shares dipped 0.2 per cent to [...]
Greek debt deadline: Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis hits back at creditors April 16, 2015 Greece’s defiant finance minister lashed out at the country’s lenders last night, insisting that he will not back down during crunch talks despite impending debt deadlines. Yanis Varoufakis was speaking after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) all but ruled out the prospect of Greece being allowed to delay its repayments to the bailout provider. “Payment [...]
Adultery site Ashley Madison faces tough test wooing London bankers for its flotation plans April 16, 2015 It may boast sales of £77m, 36m members globally and a 45 per cent annual growth rate, but cheating spouses website Ashley Madison faces a tougher test to float in London than it expects. The saucy Toronto-based group, which allows married people to link up online for affairs, is weighing plans to raise $200m, but [...]
Etsy IPO: Online marketplace doubles in value on stock market debut April 16, 2015 Quirky online marketplace Etsy soared on its stock market debut yesterday, with shares popping from their listing price of $16 to a high of $34 a share, underscoring the ongoing love affair by investors for US tech stocks. The company, which allows vendors to sell handmade items, antiques and artisan craft products, priced shares at [...]
Eurocement bid to appoint new HolcimLafarge director rejected April 16, 2015 Swiss cement firm Holcim announced yesterday that it had turned down a proposal from major shareholder Eurocement for its founder Filaret Galchev to join the board of the new combined company it is creating with rival Lafarge. The companies announced the names of the candidates for the board of the new group earlier this week, [...]
Standard Chartered: Crisis has made firms over-sensitive to emerging risks April 16, 2015 Investors and businesses have over-reacted to the financial crisis, placing too much weight on emerging risks and not enough on economic opportunities, analysts at Standard Chartered said yesterday. Firms could be missing out because they see all possible risks as having enormous potential, rather than addressing them even-handedly. “While there are clearly risks today, businesses [...]
Investors pile into Citigroup as US bank slashes costs to shore up income April 16, 2015 Citigroup’s profits hit an eight-year high in the first quarter of 2015, as falling costs indicated the lender is becoming leaner and more efficient. The giant banking group hit the buffers in the financial crisis, and has spent years since slimming down and turning its operations around. Revenues slid two per cent on the year, [...]
BP appeases green groups at 2015 AGM: Investors put climate change on the agenda April 16, 2015 Oil firm BP gave shareholders a taste of how committed the company is to keeping costs to a minimum in the face of falling oil prices at its annual general meeting, held yesterday in London, after it laid on a feast of sandwiches and crisps instead of the usual hot food. When one shareholder asked [...]
Marlboro man’s Philip Morris up despite forex impact on sales April 16, 2015 Tobacco titan Philip Morris saw its share price leap over eight per cent yesterday after investors chose to ignore the impact of a strengthening dollar on first quarter earnings. The seller of Marlboro recorded revenues of $6.6bn (£4.4bn) during the period, down 4.4 per cent on the year before, however, currency fluctuations shaved $939m off [...]