US Federal Reserve keeps benchmark interest rates unchanged with a 9/1 vote April 27, 2016 The US Federal Reserve has left its overnight lending rate for banks unchanged at a target range of between 0.25 and 0.50 per cent at its latest meeting. The committee of 10 said in a statement it would continue to monitor the US and global economic situation. The Committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner [...]
Virgin Media pledges fibre broadband expansion to one million premises by 2019 April 27, 2016 Virgin Media has announced that it will be rolling out fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband for one million homes and businesses over the next few years. The plans are part of Virgin Media’s £3bn expansion to grow its overall network by four million premises by 2019. Rivals BT and Sky are currently trialling FTTP or deploying it in smaller [...]
Profit at Spanish banking giant Santander drops five per cent in the first quarter on currency headwinds April 27, 2016 The eurozone's largest bank and the UK challenger Banco Santander, has posted a 4.9 per cent fall in first-quarter net profit from a year earlier. Santander reported net profit of €1.63bn (£1.84bn), beating a Reuters analyst poll of a 12.5 per cent decline. The drop was put down to currency headwinds as a fall in the value of the Brazilian [...]
GlaxoSmithKline turnaround takes hold with a better-than-expected rise in first quarter sales and profits, share price jumps April 27, 2016 GlaxoSmithKline has reported sales rose to £6.23bn, up 11 per cent, in the first quarter on last year, generating core earnings per share (EPS) of 19.8 pence. The UK pharmaceuticals group is in the midst of a turnaround and the latest results may go someway to proving outgoing chief executive Andrew Witty's plan could work out. Witty is keen for the [...]
US oil has edged over $45 per barrel again today as oil prices hit their highest since November April 27, 2016 A decline in US crude oil stockpiles has pushed global oil prices to their highest since November last year. Brent rose $1.33 a barrel to $47.05 in early afternoon trading in London, while West Texas Intermediate reached highs of $45.18 per barrel earlier in the day. Yesterday it was reported US supplies fell by 1.07m barrels last week, the [...]
Hilton checks in double profits in the first quarter thanks to tax benefits and higher rooms rates April 27, 2016 US hotel group Hilton has reported a sharp increase of 42 per cent in like-for-like earnings per share compared to 2015 in its first quarter. Profit rose to $309m (£212m) – up from $150m in the same period in previous year – thanks to tax benefits and higher rooms rates. Hilton earned 17 cents per [...]
Supermarkets brace for fresh CMA criticism in latest phase of pricing super-complaint investigation April 26, 2016 The competition watchdog is expected to crack down on pricing in the UK’s supermarkets tomorrow morning. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is set to publish the latest phase of its response to a so-called super-complaint raised last year about predatory pricing tactics by major grocers. Earlier it was reported by Sky News that Asda has been [...]
Luxembourg grants Bitstamp the first European bitcoin exchange licence April 26, 2016 One of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges, Bitstamp, has been awarded a licence to operate as a fully regulated payment institution in Luxembourg. Bitstamp boasted it made it the first fully licensed bitcoin exchange in Europe, amid hopes it will increase the exchanges legitimacy and boost trading volumes. The licence comes into effect on 1 July [...]
Exxon Mobil has been stripped of its top-notch credit rating April 26, 2016 Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has busted Exxon Mobil down from its perfect credit rating. Exxon, the world’s largest publicly-traded energy group, has lost its top rating due to the problems caused by the collapse of the oil price. Exxon's rating has been reduced to “AA+” from “AAA” due to “low commodity prices, high reinvestment requirements, and large dividend payments”. Earlier today BP [...]
Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond confirms bid talks for bank’s Africa unit April 26, 2016 Bob Diamond, the former Barclays chief executive who resigned from the bank in the wake of the Libor-rigging scandal, has taken another step towards seizing Barclays' Africa arm. Atlas Mara, the London-listed investment company Diamond co-founded in 2013, today revealed it was in talks for Barclays Africa unit which was put up for sale last month due [...]
