Surveys reveal UK consumers are optimistic on the economy February 26, 2015 CONSUMER confidence is at pre-recession levels, new figures show. The consumer confidence index released today by German market research company GFK maintained a score of one for February. At the peak of the financial crisis, the index hit minus 40, but is now at levels last seen in 2005. Another measure of consumer confidence released [...]
Bank of England trains 150 staff to monitor forex markets properly after rate-rigging scandal February 26, 2015 More than 150 Bank of England staff have been retrained to keep an eye on foreign exchange markets properly, in the wake of the manipulation scandal. Although a review led by Lord Grabiner found the Bank’s staff had not done anything wrong, officials are concerned that they did not uncover the benchmark manipulation which led [...]
Playtech share price soars to all-time high as revenue and profits hit new record February 26, 2015 Gambling software firm Playtech posted record annual revenue and profits yesterday on the back of its acquisitions and partnerships, pushing its shares to an all-time high. The company reported a 24 per cent increase in revenue to €457m (£332.4m) and an adjusted profit up 28 per cent to €194m during the year to 31 December. [...]
Bank of England puts and end to “governors’ eyebrows and fireside chats” in transparency drive February 26, 2015 Transparency is to be the keyword for the Bank of England’s dealings with the City. The Bank is on a mission to overhaul how it interacts with the City in the wake of its embroilment in the forex scandal. In a speech this evening, Minouche Shafik, the BoE’s deputy governor for markets and banking will [...]
Tesco is losing directors Jacqueline Tammenoms Bakker and Olivia Garfield – meaning it has just one female board member February 26, 2015 Two of Tesco's three female board members are leaving the troubled supermarket this week. Jacqueline Tammenoms Bakker, who has been a director for six years, will retire at the end of Tesco's financial year, which is on Saturday. Olivia Garfield is stepping down at the same time, after nearly two years at the grocer [...]
Domino’s Pizza share price soars after revealing record profit February 26, 2015 The figures Shares in Domino's Pizza soared by more than seven per cent in early morning trading after the fast food company announced a 15.1 per cent rise in underlying profit before tax to an extra-large £54.8m for the full year ended 28 December 2014. The record profit was delivered by record sales of £766.6m [...]
Standard Chartered share price rises following appointment of Bill Winters as chief executive February 26, 2015 Having been in the rumour mill for a while now, Standard Chartered has finally confirmed that it's appointed a new chief executive. Bill Winters will replace Peter Sands later this year. The bank made the move following continued shareholder dissatisfaction at how it was being run – returns have not been at their best recently [...]
Sky share price reaches 15-year high of 1,005p on pan-European status February 25, 2015 Despite more cost pressure than ever on European pay TV broadcaster Sky, its shares touched a new high yesterday as investors remained optimistic about the group’s future. Shares rose 3.18 per cent to 1,005p on the London Stock Exchange, even as Sky prepares to swallow a huge £4.2bn bill to hold on to its Premier [...]
HP share price tumbles as earnings fall far short of analysts’ forecast February 25, 2015 Shares in Hewlett Packard (HP) tanked yesterday, wiping out gains from a multi-billion dollar deal with Deutsche Bank as full-year results showed earnings far below analysts’ expectations. Shares fell more than 10 per cent despite the deal, announced on Tuesday, under which Deutsche Bank would outsource parts of its US banking IT structure to the computer [...]
Former Tesco exec takes over as boss of Morrisons supermarkets February 25, 2015 MORRISONS has named former Tesco executive David Potts as its new chief executive, completing the recruitment of a triumvirate of ex-Tesco men to restore growth at the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket. Potts was Tesco’s longest serving director after beginning his career as a shelf stacker in 1973 and rising to become head of its Asian business. [...]