FTSE 100 and Wall Street strike an upbeat tone to start the week April 26, 2021 Soaring copper prices and hopes of a summer holiday pushed the FTSE 100 to close higher on Monday while Wall Street rose ahead of a busy week for big tech earnings. London’s blue-chip index came under pressure this morning due to a stronger pound and weaker oil prices. However comments made by Ursula von der [...]
UK imposes sanctions on individuals accused of serious corruption in Russia April 26, 2021 The UK has sanctioned a number of individuals across Russia, South Africa and Latin America in the first use of a new anti-corruption law. Some 22 individuals were hit with asset freezes and travel bans today in the first use of Britain’s new Magnitsky act. Like a similar law in the US, it is named [...]
Review of banker bonus cap not top of the agenda, says BoE official April 26, 2021 A review of the cap on bankers bonuses is not top of the Bank of England’s priority list, according to an official. Now the UK is out of the EU it is free to set its own regulatory agenda on financial services. It has previously been reported the Treasury is considering scrapping the cap entirely [...]
Aggreko shareholders vote through £2.3bn takeover bid April 26, 2021 Aggreko shareholders have waved through the multi-billion pound takeover by private equity firms TDR Capital and I Squared Capital. In a statement the FTSE 250 firm said the deal had passed by the majority of scheme shareholders at both its court and general meetings held earlier today. It comes just a month after Aggreko said [...]
Serco tagging trial falls through after SFO declines to offer evidence April 26, 2021 Two former Serco executives have been cleared of defrauding the Ministry of Justice after the SFO declined to offer evidence. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) brought claims against Nicholas Woods and Simon Marshall, who were accused of “defrauding the taxpayer” by concealing £12m in profits related to an electronic tagging contract for offenders. Today a [...]
Bank earnings preview: What to expect in this week’s quarterly results April 26, 2021 While the banking sector has recovered somewhat in the past two months this week the issue of bad loans and customer defaults will be front of mind. The sector set aside billions in provisions for bad loans at the start of the pandemic, expecting a huge increase in defaults. However with thanks to government support [...]
Economy shows green shoots of recovery as dividends fall at slowest rate in a year April 26, 2021 UK dividends fell at their slowest rate in the first quarter in an encouraging sign the economy is starting to recover from the worst of the pandemic. Payouts fell 26.7 per cent to £12.7bn in the first quarter year-on-year, according to Link Group’s latest Dividend Monitor. Since the nearly 50 per cent drop in payments [...]
Public sector borrowing surges to record high April 23, 2021 Public sector borrowing surged to a record high in the past year after a huge rise in spending and tax cuts amid the pandemic. The UK Government borrowed £303.1bn in the last year, an increase of £246bn on the previous year, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). As a ratio of [...]
Hedge fund Odey takes short position against Deliveroo after disastrous IPO April 22, 2021 Odey Asset Management has taken a short position against Deliveroo after a disastrous start to the delivery firm’s London IPO. Odey fund managers James Hanbury and Jamie Grimston took the bet on Deliveroo’s first day of trading, according to investor documents seen by the Financial Times. Deliveroo made its debut on 31 March with a [...]
Greensill’s parent company enters liquidation April 22, 2021 Greensill Capital’s Australian business, which collapsed last month with debts of A$4.9bn, has entered liquidation. Administrator Grant Thornton said creditors had voted by 23 to zero, with a handful of abstentions, to liquidate the parent company of the disgraced supply chain firm. “As of today, the company is now in liquidation,” Grant Thornton said. “The [...]
