Job numbers up in US ahead of Fed meeting December 4, 2013 A STRONG increase in US private sector employment was recorded during November, according to official statistics released yesterday, as the Federal Reserve’s regional banks pointed to modest and moderate growth across the country. The latest employment report from Automatic Data Processing (ADP) showed that 215,000 jobs were created last month, about 40,000 more than analysts [...]
Metro Bank set to raise extra £100m December 4, 2013 METRO Bank is raising an extra £100m in its cash call, it emerged yesterday, as investors lap up the equity on offer in its latest fundraising round. The start-up lender is increasing the fundraising drive to £385m, £100m more than previously planned as investors want to put more cash into the bank. “This additional capital [...]
Marshall Wace pays out £84m as fees jump December 4, 2013 HEDGE fund manager Marshall Wace paid out £83.6m to its members this year after the London firm enjoyed another year of soaring income. Profits divided among members jumped 76 per cent to £83.6m in the year to February, compared to a 20 per cent rise to £47.3m in the previous year. Almost 70 per cent [...]
Hibu shareholders hit out at former bosses December 4, 2013 SAVERS who lost money in the restructuring of Yellow Pages owner Hibu yesterday criticised its former directors for failing to meet them at a shareholder meeting. The Hibu Shareholder Group (HSG), which represents about 760 small investors, said former chairman Bob Wigley and ex-chief executive Mike Pocock should have attended the emergency general meeting held [...]
TfL plans for £4.2bn more cuts December 4, 2013 Transport for London has pledged to save a further £4.2bn over the next seven years – though its plans assume that fares will rise by more than inflation after 2014’s price hikes. TfL has already planned £12bn-worth of savings up to 2021. The extra reductions, sketched out in yesterday’s business plan, will come from closing [...]
Hewlett-Packard to cut UK jobs December 4, 2013 American computer maker Hewlett-Packard is set to cut 1,124 jobs in Britain as part of plans to lay off 27,000 employees globally by the end of 2014, the company said yesterday HP’s statement came after the Unite union said it had attended a meeting where managers were outlining their plans to cut jobs at the [...]
European start-up fund launches December 4, 2013 Hoxton Ventures has raised $40m (£24m) for a fund to invest in early-stage European technology companies, with the aim of emulating the booming start-up scene in the States. “We are very happy to be contrarian investors concentrating on European entrepreneurs. We think this is a poorly served geography,” said Hussein Kanji, a founding partner at [...]
EU update on securities rules nears December 4, 2013 Updates to the European Union’s strictures on securities trading were being finalised in meetings yesterday, before the European Parliament decides on the changes. Alterations on the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) are currently being finished off, bringing prolonged negotiations about the regulations to an end. The directive was implemented in 2007, and the round [...]
Hayman Capital buys GM stake December 4, 2013 Hedge fund Hayman Capital has taken a stake in General Motors and believes the US carmaker’s stock could rise more than 40 per cent over the next 12-18 months after the US Treasury sells its stake in the company, a source familiar with investment said yesterday. Hayman Capital’s move into GM comes as the US [...]
Inside Track: It’s about time the City’s watchdog got its act together December 4, 2013 WERE British banks engaged in a corrupt pact to bankrupt struggling business customers? The evidence from dossiers compiled by the businessmen Lawrence Tomlinson and Neil Mitchell is superficially shocking, although as yet inconclusive. Anecdotal evidence that Royal Bank of Scotland’s global restructuring group has nudged clients into administration when alternative outcomes were achievable have circulated [...]