Twitter leans toward NYSE September 24, 2013 TWITTER is leaning towards picking the New York Stock Exchange over Nasdaq for its highly-anticipated initial public offering, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday. A report earlier said Twitter had already chosen the NYSE, but sources close to the exchanges believe Twitter is yet to make its mind up. Big Board parent NYSE [...]
ICAP deal on probe looms September 24, 2013 ICAP may pay less than $100m (£62m) to settle a civil probe into the broker-dealer’s alleged role in manipulation of a key interest rate, according to people familiar with settlement talks. The agreement could come as soon as today, according to the Wall Street Journal. It would be the fourth in an investigation into the [...]
Ebay and Argos to trial click and collect service September 24, 2013 ONLINE auction giant Ebay announced yesterday that it has entered into a national trial with Argos to let customers pick up goods bought on Ebay in Argos stores. The collection service will initially be trialled at 150 Argos stores for six months and will include goods bought from 50 of Ebay’s sellers. Ebay did not [...]
Bottom Line: Forty-year-old retailer is true pioneer in age of the internet September 24, 2013 WE DON’T think retail is dead. It is just being repositioned.” So said Ebay president Devin Wenig yesterday, as the US auction giant launched a tie-up with Argos that will see some of the latter’s 700 stores used as drop-off points for deliveries from 50 Ebay sellers. Once again the catalogue firm – founded in [...]
Amazon ready for busy Xmas September 24, 2013 ONLINE giant Amazon said yesterday it plans to hire 15,000 seasonal staff across its UK fulfilment and customer service centres, as it gears up to meet demand this Christmas. Last year the group hired 10,000 temporary staff across its eight UK warehouses and Edinburgh call centre, offering permanent roles to 1,000 of the staff at [...]
Retail closures starting to slow September 24, 2013 MORE British shops closed than opened in the first half of this year although the net fall in store numbers was 78 per cent smaller than in the first six months of 2012, according to research from consultants PwC and the Local Data Company (LDC). The results of their study of 500 town centres showed [...]
Mortgage deals strike a four year high in August September 24, 2013 THE SURGING housing market has pushed mortgage lending to a four-year peak, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), while lending to businesses remains anaemic. The BBA said that last month its members approved 38,228 mortgages, an increase of just over 25 per cent from the same month last year, highlighting the recent boost to activity [...]
German firms point to an improving economy September 24, 2013 A MAJOR index of business optimism in Germany revealed confidence among firms again in September, for the fifth month. The Ifo business climate index, announced yesterday, came in at 107.7, marginally above August’s recording. A score over 100 indicates firms are seeing growth. Expectations from the future also rose, up to 104.2. Companies’ forecasts for their [...]
Lloyds believes shake-up gives it lowest costs September 24, 2013 LLOYDS’ cost of equity should soon be the lowest in the industry, chief executive Antonio Horta Osorio claimed in a speech yesterday. He argued the bank’s cost-cutting and its new focus on the UK mean it is set to become among the most efficient in the sector. It came as the bank announced the sale [...]
RBS pins hopes of turnaround to profits on rising interest rates September 24, 2013 RISING interest rates would quickly make RBS billions of pounds, the bank’s finance chief revealed yesterday, raising hopes that the economic recovery will boost the taxpayer-backed lender. If rates are hiked one percentage point, incomes would rise £450m in the first year, £640m in the second and £860m in the third. And a gradual rise of [...]