China banks ban Bitcoin as Wall Street weighs in December 5, 2013 BITCOIN saw volatile trading prices yesterday as investors reacted to news that China’s government banned financial institutions from trading in Bitcoin. Bank of America Merill Lynch (BoAML) also published its first note on Bitcoin – the digital currency that can be traded anonymously and freely worldwide – marking the first major Wall Street bank to [...]
Vodafone’s $130bn Verizon deal given go ahead by US regulator December 5, 2013 VERIZON’S $130bn (£79bn) purchase of Vodafone’s stake in joint US venture Verizon Wireless was granted approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) yesterday. “In this instance, the International Bureau was able to expeditiously grant the declaratory ruling by public notice after completing its public interest review,” said International Bureau chief Mindel De La Torre. The [...]
George on fire but Lola stole the show December 5, 2013 SO GEORGE’S Autumn Statement tie was green. A bolt from the blue (pun intended) for avid George Osborne tie followers, who were expecting blue or purple, and a treat for Ladbrokes which didn’t have to pay out a penny on its tie bet, as punters rushed to place their bets on other colours. The Capitalist [...]
Tinkling the ivories: (R)Ed Balls misses his Grade 3 piano exam December 5, 2013 MOVE over Miliband, there’s a new Red Ed in town. The shadow chancellor’s frustrations at George Osborne’s “good news” on the economy, were played out on his face when he addressed the House of Commons after yesterday’s Autumn Statement. His face took on a reddish hue – prompting a storm of comments on Twitter. But [...]
Silicon Valley Bank’s Got Christmas Talent December 5, 2013 GET YOUR secret Santa pressies ready and start crafting those turkey vol-au-vents; ‘tis the season for Christmas parties. While we’re remaining tight lipped about the City A.M. bash, The Capitalist has heard Silicon Valley Bank held its festive fiesta last night at Vinopolis, near London Bridge. But rather than simply sit down to a Christmas [...]
AG Barr’s sales fizz thanks to summer heat December 5, 2013 THE SUMMER heatwave increased Britons’ thirst for AG Barr’s fizzy drinks, the company said yesterday, as it posted another quarter of strong sales growth. The Irn-Bru maker said revenues surged eight per cent in the 18 weeks to 1 December compared with the same time last year, while volume sales also increased by 6.4 per [...]
Bumi heads to arbitration to recover funds from Roeslani December 5, 2013 FTSE 250-listed Bumi yesterday said it would go into arbitration in Singapore to recover $173m (£105.6m) from Rosan Roeslani, after the former director refused to return the funds. “He denies that he is in breach of those obligations and asserts that any outstanding liability to transfer any cash or assets under the Roeslani Agreement has [...]
Egdon set to explore Lincolnshire December 5, 2013 UK shale explorer Egdon Resources yesterday said it had signed an agreement with Scottish Power to allow it to evaluate the potential of energy resources in Lincolnshire. Egdon has a year to explore, before either committing to drilling an exploration well, or else ending the agreement. Mark Abbott, Egdon managing director, said he was “delighted” [...]
Kirkland Lake Gold to cut spending December 5, 2013 Gold mining exploration firm Kirkland Lake Gold yesterday said it planned to slash spending by $2.1m for its 2014 financial year. The cut means it will have saved $5m overall for the year. The company says the latest spending reduction will mean a hiring freeze and the termination of some staff employment contracts. Chief executive [...]
Arria shares soar 50pc on debut December 5, 2013 Software development business Arria yesterday saw its shares soar over 50 per cent on its first day of trading on junior market Aim. Software from the firm, which uses technology developed at the University of Aberdeen, is currently used to create UK weather reports and by oil firms such as Shell to monitor equipment on [...]