Barclays pre-tax profits slip more than 20pc for the first half of 2016 July 29, 2016 Barclays has reported a slide in pre-tax profits for the first half of the year. The figures Profits before tax at the banking giant plunged to £2.1bn, down 21 per cent on £2.6bn the year before, and attributable profits dropped to £1.1bn, down 31 per cent from £1.6bn for the six months ending June 2015. [...]
PM’s takeover test may do more Arm than good July 29, 2016 We're less than a month into Theresa May’s administration but there’s already a worrying air of economic policy schizophrenia drifting through Whitehall. The new Prime Minister has the most daunting in-tray of any incoming Premier for decades, but she needs to flesh out her vision for corporate Britain fast; what she has offered so far [...]
Discount supermarkets set to benefit as consumer confidence falls through the floor after the Brexit vote July 29, 2016 Discount supermarkets are set to win big on Brexit as consumer confidence falls through the floor. UK consumer confidence dropped by 11 points in July – the biggest monthly fall for over 26 years, according to GfK. GfK’s consumer confidence index is now at -12, and dicount supermarkets could be the ones to benefit. A [...]
Steady on: Bank of Japan holds interest rates at negative 0.1 per cent but introduces other stimulus measures July 29, 2016 The Bank of Japan today opted to hold interest rates, although it did turn to other stimulus measures. The Japanese central bank voted 7-2 to stick with its minus 0.1 per cent benchmark rate. Japan first cut its rate below the zero mark in January, in a move which pleasantly surprised many of the global markets. However, [...]
Hinkley Point C: Prioritising the politically sexy over the economically rational is a waste of money July 29, 2016 The new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, which has finally been approved by EDF’s board, will be the most expensive power station anywhere in the world. Beset by delays (first proposed in 2006, it was meant to come online in 2017), it won’t be operational until 2025 and EDF will still receive its enormous £30bn [...]
City Moves for 29 July 2016 | Who’s switching jobs July 29, 2016 Gumtree Gumtree, the UK’s largest classifieds website, has recruited Matt Button to the newly created role of head of customer relationship management. Matt will work with the Gumtree marketing team and its agencies to devise and deliver a CRM strategy that acquires and retains customers across all its categories. The strategy will be focused on engaging customers [...]
Nuclear fallout: Government cools on Hinkley Point after EDF approval July 29, 2016 A decision by the board of French energy giant EDF to approve construction of two new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset was given a lukewarm response by Theresa May’s government last night. In a shock move, business and energy secretary Greg Clark said the government will now review the details and make a decision [...]
HS2 should be abandoned, says The TaxPayers’ Alliance July 29, 2016 HS2 is an expensive vanity project that must be scrapped, according to think tank The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA). The think tank said that the project costs are rising, likely to hit £90bn, with a timely delivery unlikely. Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "HS2 is a wasteful vanity project which is unlikely [...]
Amazon’s results have been boosted by growth in its cloud computing services and its second annual Prime Day July 28, 2016 Amazon has been boosted by growth in cloud computing to record better-than expected earnings. The web retailer saw revenues climb 31 per cent to $30.4bn, above analyst forecasts of $29.6bn and up from last year's equivalent figure of $23.2bn. Its Amazon Web Services business recording saw takings up 58.2 per cent to $2.83bn. Amazon also reported [...]
Google’s parent company has seen its stock surge following the publication of results ahead of analyst expectations July 28, 2016 GOOGLE parent Alphabet saw it stock surge in late trading yesterday after it reporting second quarter figures ahead of expectations. While analysts had predicted revenues of $20.7bn, the US giant last night published takings of $21.5bn for the three months to 30 June. It marked a 21 per cent increase on last year's figure of [...]