Nationwide and NatWest hit by more glitches July 26, 2012 NATIONWIDE building society yesterday admitted that it has charged a substantial number of customers twice for debit transactions made on Tuesday. Over 700,000 accounts – around a fifth of Nationwide customers – were affected by the mistake, which is thought to have occurred when an employee inadvertantly processed Tuesday’s debit card transactions for a second [...]
Amazon profit dragged down by expansion July 26, 2012 AMAZON, the online retailer, reported a sharp drop in profits last night as its massive investment programme took its toll on the company balance sheet. The firm reported quarterly profits of $7m (£4.5m) versus $191m a year ago, equating to earnings per share of just one cent compared to 41 cents a share a year [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 26, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Universal in talks to hive off Parlophone Universal Music is in talks to sell most of Parlophone, one of the crown jewels of EMI and home to Coldplay and Gorillaz, in an attempt to overcome the concerns of EU regulators reviewing its £1.2bn bid for the British recorded music group. BMG, the music [...]
PPI drags down Lloyds again in new £700m hit July 26, 2012 LLOYDS reported a first half loss yesterday as it set aside another £700m against PPI mis-selling claims, taking its total bill to date to £4.3bn. The majority taxpayer-owned bank said it made a management profit of £1.165bn in the six-month period, up six per cent on the year, but an overall loss of £439m thanks [...]
Spanish property writedowns batter Santander’s earnings July 26, 2012 SANTANDER’S profits halved in the first half of the year after it took writedowns on deteriorating Spanish real estate assets, the bank revealed yesterday. Profits fell to €100m (£78.3m) for the second quarter and €1.704bn for the half, down 51.3 per cent on the same period of 2011. Expenses rose 5.1 per cent on the [...]
Scandals cast a long shadow – but it will pass July 26, 2012 THE obloquy seems like it will never end at times. Take yesterday, with Lloyds announcing £700m more set aside for PPI mis-selling, and revealing that it has received subpoenas over Libor-rigging. Santander also acknowledged increased PPI claims. And yet the grinding aftermath of scandal can disguise good news as well. Santander’s share price rise over [...]
Top brass quit Nomura as its woes escalate July 26, 2012 NOMURA Securities boss Koji Nagai will replace Kenichi Watanabi as chief executive at the troubled bank, it was announced yesterday as seven top managers quit over the growing insider trading scandal. Analysts said the mass resignations, which saw Watanabi’s close adviser and chief operating officer Takumi Shibata stand down, may put the brakes on the [...]
Lazard’s profits slump 50pc as assets under management fall July 26, 2012 INVESTMENT bank Lazard reported a 50 per cent slump in second quarter profits yesterday, forcing it to look at ways of cutting costs. The New York based asset manager and adviser reported net income had halved to $33m (£21m) from $66m a year earlier, with earnings per share down to 25 cents from 48 cents. [...]
Rising headcount at Moody’s cancels out jump in revenues July 26, 2012 RATING agency Moody’s Corporation reported an 8.7 per cent slide in profit yesterday, blaming increased expenditure on staff numbers and IT systems. Net profits fell to $172.5m (£109.9m) at the end of June, down from $189m in the second quarter of 2011, with earnings per share hitting 76 cents, down from 82 cents last year. [...]
CME Group in tax bill boost July 26, 2012 CME Group, the Chicago futures exchange operator, beat analyst expectations yesterday to record a higher income per share figure compared to a year ago, due to a lower than expected tax bill. Total net income fell to $244.9m (£156m) from $293.7m a year ago but net income per share rose to 89 cents – seven [...]
