People’s Bank of China cuts reserve requirement for fifth time in 12 months February 29, 2016 China has cut the amount of cash it requires banks to hold in reserve, the country's central bank announced today. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut the reserve ratio by 0.5 per cent in order to "maintain adequate liquidity" and ensure steady growth in money and credit. The move will take effect from tomorrow. The reserve [...]
Trinity Mirror chief executive Simon Fox: If New Day is not profitable by 2017 “we’d have to consider its future very carefully” February 29, 2016 The future of the New Day newspaper will be considered “very carefully” if it's not profitable by 2017, Trinity Mirror's chief executive has said. Speaking to City A.M., Simon Fox also suggested there will be further consolidation in the newspaper industry in the coming years. Fox said New Day, launched today by the company, is [...]
Researchers have found a way to predict future oil prices February 29, 2016 From its sensitivity to shocks in global supply and demand, to outside factors such as the weather, oil prices are notoriously difficult to predict. After all, hardly anyone foresaw the current rout which has wiped around 70 per cent off the value of crude since the middle of 2014. But companies around the world have been forced to [...]
Budget 2016: Brewers call on chancellor George Osborne to announce a fourth consecutive cut in beer duty February 29, 2016 Surprise, surprise: the British brewing industry is calling on chancellor George Osborne to once again cut beer duty in next month's Budget. If Osborne were to axe the tax on booze on 16 March, it would mark the fourth consecutive annual cut in beer duty. In a 23-page submission to the Treasury today, the Society of [...]
Pound could fall to parity with the euro if Brexit vote gets through, warns UBS, as Deutsche Bank says Brexit would be a “journey down the rabbit hole” for UK economy February 29, 2016 Economic wonks at UBS have calculated the British pound could fall to equal value to the euro, if the UK does decide to quit the European Union in the vote set for 23 June. UBS reckons the chance that the UK will leave the EU stands at around 40 per cent. The latest warning follows [...]
Rethinking the commute: How to travel happier on the Tube, according to Arup – the architects for Copenhagen’s Cityringen February 29, 2016 How much happier would Britons be if they had better commutes? According to recent research, Londoners have the longest commutes in the UK – 49 mins on average. However, with train delays, missing drivers and unpredictable weather all making commuting more stressful than a role in the air force or riot police, what are the repercussions for Londoners’ [...]
What the Morrisons-Amazon tie up is doing to Tesco, Ocado and Sainsbury’s share prices February 29, 2016 Morrisons might be having a whale of a day after revealing its tie-up with Amazon this morning – but virtually the rest of the retail sector has spent the day so far in the red. Morrisons' share price soared on the news that it would be offering hundreds of products to Amazon's UK customers via [...]
Smaller UK banks and investment firms will not have to abide by EU bonus cap rules – FCA and PRA February 29, 2016 The UK's financial regulators have told their European counterparts they will not be applying the bonus cap to smaller banks and investment companies. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England's prudential regulation authority (PRA) have told the European Banking Authority (EBA) they will not apply the bonus cap to all firms recommended by the [...]
Genel share price tanks of $1bn impairment charge on Iraqi Kurdistan field February 29, 2016 Shares in Genel tanked today after the oil producer said it expects to book a $1bn (£721.7m) impairment on an oil field in Iraqi Kurdistan due disappointing production and diminished value from low oil prices. Following a review, Genel cut its estimates for proven and probable reserves at its Taq Taq oil field to 356m barrels as of [...]
Consumer borrowing growth hits decade-high February 29, 2016 Borrowing on credit cards and through overdrafts is growing at its fastest rate since January 2006, data published today by the Bank of England reveals. The stock of consumer credit reached £179.5bn in January, up 9.1 per cent on the same month last year. Total credit growth in the UK is now at its highest [...]