ING grows its full-year profits, as bank gets going with restructuring plan February 2, 2017 ING announced this morning its full-year profits for 2016 have climbed, shortly after the bank revealed it was undergoing a massive restructuring which would shed thousands of jobs. The figures The Dutch bank boosted its net profits for the year to €4.7bn (£4.1bn), up 16 per cent compared with €4bn the year before. Meanwhile, underlying [...]
Sports Direct buys 11 per cent share in French Connection February 2, 2017 Sports Direct has bought an 11 per cent of French Connection, a stake that would allow the company to disrupt any buy-out bid for the ailing high street retailer. The move comes at a time of flux for the company, which has been hit by losses for five years. Activist investors have been pushing non-executives [...]
Vodafone shares lose momentum: Analysts reflect on Indian and UK concerns February 2, 2017 Pricing pressure in both Europe and India continued to weigh on Vodafone, after the telecoms giant revealed its third quarter trading today. Organic group service revenue grew by 1.7 per cent during the third quarter to December, a touch ahead of market consensus expectations of 1.6 per cent. Shares initially fell nearly three per cent [...]
Theresa May publishes her Brexit plan in government white paper February 2, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has issued her much-demanded Brexit white paper, less than 24 hours after MPs voted in favour of granting her the power to begin EU divorce proceedings. The government paper was released by the Department for Exiting the European Union earlier today, following repeated calls for the government to expand on May's [...]
7 things to know from the government’s Heathrow expansion plans February 2, 2017 By now you may have heard the government has set out its draft national policy statement for Heathrow expansion, kicking off a 16-week consultation. But what's this about and what does it mean for Heathrow's third runway? Read more: Government to unveil Heathrow third runway national policy statement 1. Now's the time to air your views [...]
John McDonnell says Labour’s frontbench Brexit rebels may not face the sack February 2, 2017 Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said the party's Brexit rebels may be able to serve on the frontbench, despite disobeying direct orders. 13 Labour shadow ministers, including three party whips, voted against the progress of the Article 50 Bill in the House of Commons last night, ignoring instructions from party leader Jeremy Corbyn to [...]
London-based Hot Wheels game maker Hutch raises £4m from Index Ventures and Backed VC February 2, 2017 A Silicon Roundabout star behind a hit Hot Wheels video game has zoomed off with a $5.5m (£4.3m) investment. Hutch, which has studios in London and Brighton, raised the money from Index Ventures and Backed VC. Founded in 2011, Hutch received seed financing in 2014, via a round led by Initial Capital. Hot Wheels: Race Off, [...]
Bank of England in dramatic upgrade of UK growth forecasts February 2, 2017 Bank of England governor Mark Carney dramatically revised up growth forecasts today, while dismissing fears of banks leaving the UK after Brexit. The Bank now predicts no slowdown over the course of this year. GDP will climb two per cent, according to the Bank’s latest forecasts, the same rate as growth in 2016. The upgrade [...]
Tesco Bank’s chief exec says lenders don’t pay customers enough interest on current accounts February 2, 2017 The boss of Tesco Bank has hit out at high street rivals, claiming they make billions of pounds by skimping on the rate of interest paid to customers. Benny Higgins, who led the lender through a mammoth cyber attack on Tesco Bank last November, said the amount of switching between providers remains "stubbornly low", something lenders [...]