Barclays boss John McFarlane looks to cut costs despite profit rise in bid to streamline bank July 30, 2015 Barclays, Britain’s largest bank after HSBC, yesterday delivered £3.1bn of pre-tax profits for the first half of this year, boosted by a 36 per cent rise in the performance of its investment banking arm, which chipped in almost half the total. The investment bank made £1.44bn pre-tax profit. John McFarlane, who joined the bank as [...]
Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn wins backing from Unison while bookies tip him as favourite to lead Labour July 30, 2015 Far-left candidate Jeremy Corbyn has solidified his lead in the Labour leadership race, securing another major trade union endorsement and surging past his opponents in the betting markets for the first time. Unison, which counts 1.3m public service workers among its members, said yesterday that it was backing Corbyn’s anti-austerity candidacy. The trade union’s general [...]
John ‘Mac the Knife’ McFarlane raises fears with investors that egos will rule the roost at Barclays July 29, 2015 Is there a bank director with a thicker hide than John McFarlane? The tone of yesterday’s interim results from Barclays, which comfortably beat City forecasts, would more ordinarily be accompanied by the praise of a chairman for their chief executive. Instead, the newly installed executive chairman, McFarlane, struggled to find reasons for burying him. The [...]
As the Calais migrant crisis worsens, is Nigel Farage right that the army should now be drafted in? July 29, 2015 Steven Woolfe, Ukip’s migration spokesman, says Yes Of course he is! The answer is found in the narrative of the question. As any Sandhurst student will tell you, “aid in support of civil authorities” is one reason why we have our armed forces. Unfortunately, instead of aiding the civil authorities for things like floods, in [...]
Jeremy Corbyn is now bookmakers’ favourite to become next leader of the Labour party July 29, 2015 He may have started the fight as an outsider, but with weeks to got before the vote, Jeremy Corbyn has become the bookmakers' favourite to become the next permanent leader of the Labour party. A surge of bets in the wake of the latest polling has forced bookies to slash odds on the left wing [...]
Oops: Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump “exaggerated his wealth” July 29, 2015 Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has overstated his wealth to the tune of $7.1bn (£4.5bn), according to an analysis by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The brash businessman and property magnate's campaign team has said his net worth was more than $10bn, citing the value of his properties in New York, San Francisco, Miami and many other places [...]
Chancellor George Osborne: Links with the European Union should be based on free trade July 29, 2015 As negotiations between the UK and European Union around terms of the UK's membership continue, George Osborne has said the relationship should be based around free trade. Read more: Osborne says France and UK can strike deal The economic benefits are key to EU membership, and should therefore be at the heart of renegotiation, the chancellor [...]
Jury sent out to consider verdict in Tom Hayes libor-rigging trial July 29, 2015 The jury has been out to consider the verdict in the trial of former trader Tom Hayes who is accused of attempting to manipulate the Libor rate. The former UBS and Citigroup yen derivatives trader, who is 35, denies eight charges of conspiracy to defraud between August 2006 and September 2010. Prosecutors have branded Hayes "greedy" and [...]
Chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen says rates will rise this year if economy remains on track causing dollar to jump July 29, 2015 The Federal Reserve has reiterated that it is on course to raise interest rates in 2015, as Chair of the Federal Reserve described the US economy’s prospects as “favourable”. Hiring has pushed the country towards maximum employment, while factors that have been holding back inflation were likely to diminish, Yellen indicated in a prepared statement [...]
Obese people who refuse treatment could have their benefits cut July 29, 2015 Overweight people who refuse to lose weight may have their benefits cut, as David Cameron launches a review of whether those with drug, alcohol or obesity problems should be deprived of welfare unless they accept treatment. The review, led by Dame Carol Black, chairman of the Nuffield Trust and adviser to the Department of Health, [...]