UK set to face ‘sluggish’ growth in the face of sticky inflation and Bank of England interest rate hikes
Ed Warner: Forget WrestleMania, Super Bowl or the Olympics – London mayor should seek hefty portfolio of sporting events
Fintech unicorn Klarna posts first ever annual loss February 26, 2020 Klarna, the joint largest fintech startup in Europe, has suffered its first ever annual loss, with the “buy now pay later” specialist hit by heavy credit losses. The company, which lets people pay for online purchases in installments, reported a loss of 1.1bn Swedish krona (£87.5m) on revenues of 7.2bn krona last year, its first [...]
Lloyds to cut 780 jobs across bank branches February 26, 2020 Lloyds is set to cut 780 jobs across its branches in response to declining demand for high-street banking, in the latest round of job cuts at the banking giant. “As customers are using our branches less often, we are reducing the number of roles across our branch network,” said a Lloyds spokesperson. Read more: Lloyds’ [...]
Capital & Counties net asset value slides on Covent Garden revaluation February 26, 2020 Capital & Counties has reported a decline in net asset value (NAV) after the property group was hit by a decline in value of its Covent Garden holdings. The figures The real estate investment trust, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, said its EPRA NAV per share declined 10 per cent in 2019 to [...]
London Stock Exchange’s $27bn Refinitiv deal under scrutiny in Brussels February 26, 2020 The London Stock Exchange Group’s $27bn purchase of Refinitiv has reportedly already come under intense scrutiny in Brussels, raising the prospect that EU regulators will initiate a much longer investigation into the deal than had been expected. The two companies are yet to formally notify competition regulators of the deal, which would trigger the review [...]
Ailing NMC Health shares have further to fall, says analyst February 24, 2020 An analyst who was one of the first to predict a slump in NMC Health’s share price has slashed the embattled hospital operator’s target price, saying the stock could fall a lot further. Jefferies’ James Vane-Tempest cut his target price for the NMC Health from 1,300p to 500p, 42 per cent below Friday’s closing price. [...]
No material impact from coronavirus on US-China trade deal for now, says Mnuchin February 24, 2020 US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has said he does not expect the current coronavirus outbreak to have a material impact on the Phase 1 US-China trade deal, although this could change as more data becomes available. The IMF warned yesterday that the COVID-19 outbreak will negatively impact the global economy even if it is rapidly [...]
Priti Patel ‘deeply concerned’ by ‘false allegations’ MI5 don’t trust her February 24, 2020 The government has dismissed reports that home secretary Priti Patel is not trusted by intelligence officials and that she bullied her staff as “false”. Officials have denied that MI5 held back information from Patel after claims emerged that intelligence chiefs do not trust her. Patel has also been accused of trying to force out Sir [...]
Unicredit’s Mustier rules himself out of running for HSBC role February 24, 2020 Unicredit chief executive Jean Pierre Mustier has ruled himself out of the running to be the next boss of HSBC, as the hunt to find a leader for Europe’s largest lender enters its seventh month. Italy’s biggest bank said this morning that Mustier had confirmed he would remain in role, following reports last night [...]
Bunzl reports higher profit as acquisitions drive growth February 24, 2020 Bunzl has reported a higher than expected annual profit with the distribution giant benefiting from a string of acquisitions, although growth in organic revenue slowed in North America, its largest market. Bunzl had warned last year that organic growth was slowing, and said this morning that sales from its grocery and retail business in North [...]
Barclays prepares to begin hunt for Jes Staley’s replacement February 24, 2020 Barclays is preparing to begin the search for a new chief executive to replace Jes Staley, making it the latest European bank to hunt for new leadership. Staley, who has led the banking giant since 2015, has told colleagues he expects to leave Barclays by the end of next year, according to the Financial Times. [...]