Deutsche Bank hit by pre-tax loss of €1.2bn January 20, 2014 DEUTSCHE Bank slid to a €1.15bn (£1bn) pre-tax loss in its fourth quarter, it revealed last night, as one-off restructuring and litigation costs wiped out profits at the German lender. A poor performance in the bank’s corporate banking & securities (CB&S) division helped to drag group revenues down by 16 per cent to €6.6bn in [...]
Scale of house price boom in prime London revealed January 20, 2014 AVERAGE house prices have doubled to over £1m in dozens of wards inside and surrounding London in the past decade, soaring despite the effect of the financial crisis. Research by property group Savills and the Property Database, based on Land Registry figures, shows the huge rise in prices recorded in the most sought-after parts of [...]
Investment into UK lags behind top EU countries January 20, 2014 THE UK is straggling behind other advanced economies in the competition for foreign direct investment (FDI), which makes up only 13.5 per cent of the economy. A study released today by accounting firm UHY Hacker Young shows that the average proportion of GDP made up by foreign investment is 17.1 per cent, across 33 countries [...]
Britain is world’s leading online retail exporter January 20, 2014 BRITAIN’S online retail industry generated a bigger trade surplus than any other country last year thanks to thriving overseas demand for UK fashion brands and websites such as Burberry and Asos. A study out today from OC&C Strategy Consultants and Google reveals that UK online retailers exported a net £720m more goods than were imported [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 20 January 2014 January 20, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES David Cameron faces EU isolation David Cameron risks “damaging Europe” with his anti-immigration stance, according to some of Britain’s allies, leaving the prime minister looking isolated in his attempts to restrict free movement in the EU. Ministers and officials from several EU powers told the Financial Times they would resist Mr Cameron’s attempts [...]
Metro blames IT for banks’ lack of competition January 20, 2014 BRITAIN’S banking sector cannot be broken open by challengers because the country lacks the vibrant IT sector needed to support new lenders, Metro Bank chairman Vernon Hill told City A.M. yesterday. Hill founded the first new bank in the UK in over a century in 2010, but argues it is a much easier process in [...]
Miliband wants annual review of banks and energy businesses January 20, 2014 CONSUMER lobby groups should conduct an annual competition audit on the government’s behalf, Ed Miliband will say today. The Labour leader argues that paying more attention to groups like Which? would improve competition and help consumers. But business groups attacked the idea. “The role of the Competition and Markets Authority is to act as an [...]
Capita cuts UK dividend forecast despite Vodafone payout boom January 20, 2014 GROWTH in dividends is set to slow this year, Capital Asset Services said today. The group expects underlying dividends to come in at £82.2bn, representing growth of 6.3 per cent on the year. However, that is £800m less than the analysts had previously forecast, after the prediction was cut because of weak payouts in the [...]
Hailo raises £17.5m to fuel expansion of smartphone taxi service January 20, 2014 THE FIRM behind the cab-hailing app Hailo has raised an extra $28.85m (£17.5m) to expand faster in the 16 cities where it operates. “It ensures that Hailo has sufficient financial firepower to continue to develop and expand its services across the multiple global markets the business now serves,” a spokesperson said yesterday.
Strong start to 2014 as growth raises optimism January 20, 2014 CONSUMER confidence has ballooned over the past 12 months, with positive sentiment about the housing market nearly doubling from the beginning of last year. Lloyds’ spending power report for December, released today, says that the number of people with positive perceptions about the housing market has risen from 23 per cent at the end of [...]