Standard Bank fined £7.6m for anti-money laundering failures January 23, 2014 STANDARD Bank failed to properly and consistently apply anti-money laundering procedures to corporate customers related to politically exposed persons, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said yesterday. The City watchdog fined the Africa-focused lender for the lapses which occurred between December 2007 and July 2011. The fine of £7.6m was reduced by 30 per cent because the bank [...]
Eurozone grew at faster pace as 2013 ended January 23, 2014 THE EUROZONE economies grew at their fastest pace in two and a half years this December, as the currency bloc attempts to emerge from stagnation. According to Markit’s purchasing managers’ index, which surveys firms across the region, businesses are expanding at the most rapid pace since the summer of 2011. The headline score for the [...]
Bottom Line: US slowdown a worry – but this is a blip in the long-term buy January 23, 2014 A BILLION pounds is a lot of money. That’s how much investors wiped off Pearson yesterday after a weaker than expected update sent its shares down more than nine per cent. The company has had a busy few months – selling Mergermarket in November and buying Grupo Multi in December – all while restructuring its [...]
Employment agencies facing mis-selling probe from Cable January 23, 2014 BUSINESS Secretary Vince Cable will investigate a number of top employment agencies, accused of mis-selling personal accident insurance. Cable was pressed to take action yesterday after Chuka Umunna, Labour’s shadow business secretary, highlighted six employment agencies and one larger company, Gee7, that he believes have been making money out of selling insurance to low-paid employees [...]
FBI warns US retailers over cyber crime January 23, 2014 THE FBI has warned US retailers to prepare for more cyber attacks after discovering about 20 hacking cases in the past year that involved the same kind of malicious software used against Target in the holiday shopping season. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation distributed a confidential three-page report to retail companies last week describing [...]
EasyJet shares take a breather as losses widen January 23, 2014 EASYJET said yesterday the late Easter would mean wider half-year losses, sending its shares down four per cent. EasyJet expects to post a loss of between £70m and £90m for the half-year, compared to £61m a year ago, in a traditionally loss-making period for many airlines. The wider losses are partly due to the Easter [...]
Analyst Views: Should investors be worried by the slide in Easyjet shares? January 23, 2014 GERT ZONNEVELD | PANMURE GORDON The [statement] suggests trading has continued in line with expectations. Full year cost guidance is slightly better but it is too soon for any visibility on second half yields. Following a great share price performance, we upgrade our target to 1,800p but downgrade our recommendation from buy to hold. WYN [...]
Shell loses Arctic drilling appeal January 23, 2014 ROYAL Dutch Shell could be forced to delay its drilling in the Arctic, after a US appeals court ruled that offshore oil permits were awarded without considering the full environmental risks. The FTSE 100 oil major said last month that it was planning to resume exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea near Alaska this summer. [...]
Barclays’ boss says kids need coding skills for future jobs January 23, 2014 BRITAIN’S young people need different skills if they are to find work in the modern economy, Barclays’ chief said yesterday. Antony Jenkins said other countries teach computer coding from an early age to prepare them for high tech work, unlike Britain. “In the UK we have 1m young people not in employment, education, or training. [...]
What was that? Mike Lynch has trouble hearing January 23, 2014 AUTONOMY founder Mike Lynch has come up with a novel way of dodging uncomfortable questions (of which there are a few at the moment) – he told an audience at Cass Business School this week that he is hard of hearing. “I’m actually deaf, so in this situation what happens when we come to the [...]