US GDP growth rises to 2.3 per cent in second quarter July 30, 2015 Official statistics published today showed growth in the US hit 2.3 per cent in the second quarter, missing expectations of 2.5 per cent. Read more: Fed keeps interest rate unchanged However, the disappointing 0.2 per cent contraction originally posted in previous three months was revised to 0.6 per cent growth as statisticians changed the way they [...]
Exit fees review serves as a wake-up call to those who think pensions born in the 1990s are fit for the 21st century July 30, 2015 In April this year, pensions received a makeover Trinny and Susannah would have been proud of. Described as a revolution, the new pension freedoms aimed to wipe a tatty slate clean and give everyone as much choice with their retirement income as they could want. Pension savers are now treated like adults; to spend [...]
Canary Wharf Group launches registration for 800 riverside homes at former Shell Centre July 30, 2015 Fresh from its takeover by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, Canary Wharf Group has launched registration for homes at its first-ever non-Canary Wharf development – Southbank Place, formerly known as the Shell Centre. The company is planning a £1bn renovation of the 27-storey site, which will include 868 homes, 530,000 sq ft of office space [...]
Conservative election victory creates M&A bonanza July 30, 2015 The run-up to the election may seem like ancient history now, but there's no doubting businesses were worried about what would happen if the wrong sort of coalition, or even – gasp – Labour, came to power. Read more: Summer sizzler? Over £11bn of UK-focused takeover deals on the horizon So it's hardly surprising that in the [...]
Did RBS just move one step closer to privatisation? Share price shoots up as profits jump July 30, 2015 Shares in RBS shot up 4.2 per cent to 368.1p in early trading this morning after the bank reported profits had jumped 27 per cent in the three months to the end of June. Was that gentle creaking the sound of Royal Bank of Scotland moving one step closer to privatisation? The figures The bank said [...]
Looks like we’re not going back to $50 Brent crude after oil prices rose following positive news on supplies July 29, 2015 The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil jumped 1.1 per cent to $53.94 in late afternoon trading after a report showed a surprise dip in US oil reserves. A report by the US Energy Information Administration showed oil stocks fell to 459.7m barrels in the week to Friday, down 4.2m barrels from the [...]
Windows 10 launch: Analysts think Microsoft-powered devices will continue to outsell iOS – although Android will always win July 29, 2015 The launch of Windows 10 has people pretty excited – the operating system launched amid much fanfare today as a free update for Windows users. But what will it mean in the war between Microsoft, Android – and its arch-rival, Apple? Data by Gartner shows while devices running Android, Google's answer to Windows, have stormed the [...]
Eurotunnel says migrant crisis is “too much for UK government to handle” as 1,500 people storm Channel Tunnel July 29, 2015 The number of migrants trying to reach the UK from Calais is "too much" for the UK government to handle, Politics Home has reported the company operating the Channel Tunnel saying, as French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve promised 120 additional police officers to man the Eurotunnel site. Read more: Eurotunnel faces delays as thousands try to [...]
UK house prices: Rightmove share price jumps as it absorbs business from rivals July 29, 2015 It seems the launch of an estate agent-run portal which forces agents to choose between Rightmove and Zoopla has done no harm to the former, after it reported a 16 per cent rise in revenues during the first half of the year. The figures The housing boom continues to benefit Rightmove: revenues rose to £93.1m in [...]
Baidu share price down more than 16 per cent after disappointing earnings July 28, 2015 Shares in Baidu, often dubbed "China's answer to Google", plummeted 16.8 per cent to $164.99 this afternoon, after less-than-encouraging results were released. Read more: Baidu confirms it's buying a stake in Uber During the second quarter, the Nasdaq-listed company's revenues went up 38 per cent from a year earlier to $2.7bn (£1.7bn), resulting in a fourth [...]
