Esure sees profits rise in first year as listed company March 11, 2014 Insurance group Esure has ended its first year as a listed company by reporting a rise in profit before tax of 2.5 per cent to £118m, for the year ended 31 December 2013. The company's final dividend was 13.3 pence per share. The full year dividend reached 15.8 pence per share. Esure saw a return [...]
Asian markets rise after Bank of Japan maintains monetary easing March 11, 2014 Asian markets are rising this morning after the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) decision to maintain its policy of monetary stimulus. However, the BoJ downgraded its forecast for Japanese exports. With the effect of a weak yen on consumer prices fading the BoJ's two per cent inflation target may become more difficult to achieve by the [...]
Labour readies raid on the city March 10, 2014 CRITICS yesterday lashed out at Labour’s latest raid on bank bonuses and taxpayers’ pension pots, warning that the plans could undermine confidence in the City. Ed Miliband claims that his plan to cut pension tax relief for high earners will provide £900m to fund temporary guaranteed jobs for young people and the long-term unemployed. But [...]
No signs of let up in London’s flotation flurry March 10, 2014 INVESTORS will intensify their love affair with the new issues market today as high street stalwarts Pets at Home and Poundland close the books on their multi-million pound London floats. Yesterday foreign exchange business Travelex became the latest UK firm to say it was exploring an initial public offering (IPO) while Israeli digital advertising firm Matomy [...]
Going Bananas: Fyffes seals £1bn fruity deal March 10, 2014 IRISH banana distributor Fyffes yesterday inked a deal with US rival Chiquita to create a $1.1bn banana behemoth. Chiquita and Fyffes sell 180m boxes of bananas a year between them in a market dominated by just four players, raising antitrust concerns.
British jobs boom spreads as firms go on hiring spree March 10, 2014 EVERY region in Great Britain and every sector of the economy is expecting to see another spike in hiring during the second quarter of the year. Across the UK, 10 per cent of employers plan to expand their workforce between April and June, while only three per cent expect that they will reduce staffing levels. [...]
London the top world city for 2014 bonuses March 10, 2014 LONDON’S City workers won the highest bonuses this year compared to those based in the world’s other major financial markets, a new pay survey reveals. A global survey, conducted early this year by eFinancialCareers, found that on average bonuses are up by 29 per cent on last year, with finance professionals here faring better than [...]
Fidelity slams Barclays over £2.4bn payout March 10, 2014 INVESTOR group Fidelity has become the first City firm to criticise Barclays’ £2.4bn bonus pool for 2013 – an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year, despite a 32 per cent drop in profits. Fidelity’s global chief investment officer Dominic Rossi told Sky News last night: “It is disappointing that a year after [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 11 March 2014 March 10, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Seplat plans IPO in London and Lagos Seplat, the Nigerian oil company, is set to announce today plans for initial public offerings in London and Lagos, marking the return of natural resources listings to the UK stock market – some of which have proved controversial. The group, founded in 2009 by two Nigerian [...]
Cameron: talk to Ukraine or face sanctions March 10, 2014 PRIME Minister David Cameron has warned of economic sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not agree to meet with Ukrainian government officials in the next few days. The message comes as UK and EU officials begin drafting a plan to freeze the assets of Russian citizens, in a bid to encourage the Kremlin [...]