Boris: economic inequality is a driver of effort November 27, 2013 LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson gave a speech praising Margaret Thatcher and the spirit of rivalry last night, telling the audience that a bit of healthy competition is a good thing for the economy. “The income gap between the top cornflakes and the bottom cornflakes is getting wider than ever,” he said. “I don’t believe that [...]
City could thrive outside of EU, O’Neill tells MPs November 27, 2013 FORMER Goldman Sachs economist O’Neill has said that the City of London is “beautifully placed to be the major financial services centre for the world”. Speaking at a Treasury select committee hearing yesterday, O’Neill said that the government should not be afraid to withdraw from the EU if it felt the timing was right. He [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 28 November 2013 November 27, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES JPMorgan eyed metals unit in 2012 JPMorgan Chase drew up plans to sell part of its metals warehousing empire last year as it faced pressure to show regulators that the business fitted with the activities of a bank, according to newly released documents. American-US Airways merger cleared The long-running effort to merge US [...]
Royal Mail’s profits double pre-share sale November 27, 2013 SOARING margins boosted revenues at Royal Mail in the six months to September and doubled the firm’s operating profits, the postal operator said yesterday. In the months leading up to its privatisation the group’s revenues increased to £4.52bn – a rise of two per cent on the same period of 2012. In part that was driven [...]
Vince Cable warns share price may plunge despite early jumps November 27, 2013 IT IS far too soon to judge whether or not the taxpayer lost out in the privatisation of Royal Mail, business secretary Vince Cable said yesterday, arguing that the shares could fall a long way. He said it could take anywhere from three months to two years to judge the market value of the firm. [...]
Bottom Line: Hard work starts now results are delivered November 27, 2013 VINCE Cable is right: it’s probably too soon to be booking losses on behalf of the taxpayer for the Royal Mail share sale. The stock rose yet again yesterday, with investors impressed by a set of results that delivered but did not beat forecasts. However the Royal Mail’s bankers handled the float, at least the [...]
ECB lays blame for market risk on taper gossip November 27, 2013 TURBULENCE in global markets is an escalating risk to the Eurozone’s financial stability, even as funding challenges for the region’s banks begin to abate, according to the European Central Bank (ECB). Yesterday’s financial stability review from the ECB says that concerns around turbulent markets have grown since May, blamed mainly on the expectation of major [...]
Pound is lifted by UK growth as retail sales and confidence slow November 27, 2013 STERLING jumped yesterday after the UK statistics office confirmed the economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of the year, driven by investment and consumer spending. But sentiment was dampened by a separate business survey showing disappointingly flat retail sales this month. This morning another survey shows consumer confidence rising at its [...]
The Walbrook building almost fully let November 27, 2013 THE WALBROOK in the City is almost fully let after securing three new tenants. After lying vacant for years, its owner Minerva said yesterday that DNB Bank, the Norwegian financial services group; Xchanging, the outsourcing firm; and insurance broker Arthur J Gallagher have taken a total of 320,000 square feet. It now has six tenants [...]
Nationwide succeeds in raising £500m with new equity security November 27, 2013 BUILDING society Nationwide yesterday announced it has more than covered its books in a £500m capital-raising exercise with a new equity instrument. It had aimed to raise between £300m and £500m. The lender wanted to improve its capital position, and tested the waters with the innovative security, called core capital deferred shares (CCDS). However the lender [...]