Weir to exit oil and gas after £379m loss February 26, 2020 Weir Group is to exit its oil and gas business after posting a £379m loss for 2019 today. While Weir enjoyed a strong performance in its mining business, the company warned the US oil and gas market’s poor 2019 performance forced it to slash costs in the range of £35m a year. “North American oil [...]
Sajid Javid issues PM a warning over fiscal rules and urges him to ‘balance the books’ February 26, 2020 Former chancellor Sajid Javid has issued a warning to the government not to allow spending to get out of hand, telling Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak the country’s fiscal rules are “critical”. Speaking in the Commons for the first time since he quit during the reshuffle, in the unusual move of giving a personal statement [...]
Rio Tinto returns record dividend as firm warns of coronavirus impact February 26, 2020 Rio Tinto today returned a record final divided of $3.7bn as the Anglo-Australian mining giant thanked the strength of its “world-class portfolio and balance sheet” for helping it through the “current volatile environment”. However, the FTSE 100 firm warned that it was “closely monitoring the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus and [is]prepared for some short-term [...]
Can an overseas role help your career prospects? February 26, 2020 | City Talk Even a short posting abroad can have significant, long-term career benefits. It’s never been easier for people all over the world to communicate; international teams can be connected by email, intranet, phone and even video calls. However, there is still no real replacement for face-to-face interaction. Companies post staff overseas for a number of reasons; [...]
London Stock Exchange’s $27bn Refinitiv deal under scrutiny in Brussels February 26, 2020 The London Stock Exchange Group’s $27bn purchase of Refinitiv has reportedly already come under intense scrutiny in Brussels, raising the prospect that EU regulators will initiate a much longer investigation into the deal than had been expected. The two companies are yet to formally notify competition regulators of the deal, which would trigger the review [...]
Citizens assemblies are no solution to the climate challenge — we need innovation February 26, 2020 At first sight, long-term swings in individual seats in Australian elections are a definite niche interest, one for the real trainspotter. But during a visit to Sydney University’s Complex Systems Institute, I noticed a fascinating piece in The Australian newspaper. The Australian Labor Party had a good result in the 2007 federal elections, and a [...]
IFS: Borrowing could surge to five-year high February 26, 2020 The UK’s borrowing could balloon to £63bn next year, a five-year high well above both the most recent forecast and this year’s borrowing figure, an influential think tank has said. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) also warned that the government would “undermine any credibility” in its spending rules if it ditches its pledge to [...]
FTSE 100 falls further after ‘bloodbath’ as coronavirus weighs on stocks February 25, 2020 The FTSE 100 fell below 7,100 points for the first time since October last year as fears of a coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh down stocks a day after global markets plunged. After starting the day with a marginal rise, the FTSE 100 finished the day nearly two per cent lower at 7,017 points. Germany’s [...]
US stocks in the red as coronavirus fears continue February 25, 2020 US stocks have fallen into the red as risk-off sentiment continues a day after equities plunged following a jump in the number of coronavirus cases outside China. The S&P 500, which had opened higher along with other major US indices, was down 1.4 per cent two hours after the bell. The Nasdaq was 1.5 per [...]
February retail sales dampen hopes of post-election bounce February 25, 2020 Retail sales were broadly flat in February, according to the latest research, dampening hopes that the decisive General Election result has sparked a surge in consumer spending. The CBI’s monthly distributive trades survey showed that a net balance of one per cent of retailers reported a jump in sales volume in the year to February, [...]