Banks scramble to get rid of €100bn in junk loans August 11, 2016 European banks either sold or begun working on deals to dump more than €100bn of bad loans in the first half of the year. Research from Deloitte found EU lenders sold a total of €44bn in non-performing loans in the six months to end of June, with another €68bn of offloads in the pipeline. The [...]
Macy’s to shutter 15 per cent of US stores as it looks to grow online August 11, 2016 US department store chain Macy’s is to shut around 100 stores – some 15 per cent of its total – as it battles falling foot traffic. The stores slated to be closed represent around four per cent of its declining revenue. Macy’s shares climbed on the news, ending the session up in New York, though are down [...]
The “Berlin Wall” of insurance is about to be torn down August 11, 2016 One of the biggest shakeups to the insurance sector in recent memory comes into force tomorrow. The Insurance Act 2015 was granted Royal Assent 18 months ago. However, the bulk of its provisions, including creating a new duty for those insured to make a "fair presentation" of their risk and changing the way warranties are treated, come [...]
Npower wins scores of customer as turnaround plan takes hold August 11, 2016 An army of UK customers charged back to Npower last month, as the big six energy giant's turnaround efforts began to bear fruit. RWE Npower was beset by billing problems last year, which left it unable to charge some of its customers. This prompted it to install new senior management and kickstart a restructuring. Peter Terium, chief executive [...]
This insurer is calling the shots in the war for tech talent August 11, 2016 Finding appropriately skilled staff for technology projects is a problem which plagues many businesses, but one insurance company has told City A.M. it seems to have it sussed. Gary Hoffman, chief executive officer of Hastings Group Holdings, revealed the company was increasingly looking beyond other insurance firms to sniff out the best talent and turning to tech giants, such [...]
Audley Retirement’s CEO moots an IPO in 2018 August 11, 2016 The boss of the retirement property company Audley Retirement has mooted a potential IPO for 2018. The flotation would value the company at hundreds of millions of pounds. He said the current market was also an opportunity for Audley to move into the London. Previously, London was so overheated that Audley couldn’t get a look-in – but as [...]
Cross-party group of 11 London councils calls on Theresa May to back Gatwick expansion August 11, 2016 A cross-party group of 11 London councils is urging the Prime Minister to back Gatwick expansion over Heathrow. In a letter to Theresa May, the councils said there is a “broad and growing consensus behind Gatwick expansion” and pledged to work with ministers to support the “bold and ambitious project”. Their backing comes after mayor of [...]
Microsoft splashes cash on video game streaming startup Beam August 11, 2016 Microsoft is getting in on the live games streaming action with its latest acquisition. The tech giant – fresh from snapping up LinkedIn in a $26bn (£20.1bn) deal – has acquired Beam, a Seattle-based startup which live streams video games. Read more: YouTube has launched its own live gaming service It will be rolled into Microsoft's Xbox operations, and [...]
Valeant shares take a hit after reports of criminal investigation over Philidor ties August 11, 2016 Valeant Pharmaceuticals' shares have slumped by almost 10 per cent today following reports it’s the target of a criminal probe. The investigation relates to whether Valeant hid its relationship with a specialty mail-order pharmacy that helped boost its drug sales. It's alleged Valeant defrauded insurers by hiding its close relationship with the now defunct Philidor, the Wall Street Journal reported. The embattled drugmaker – whose shares have [...]