HSBC boss Stuart Gulliver memo: “Sometimes we failed to live up to standards expected by society” February 13, 2015 HSBC boss Stuart Gulliver has admitted in a memo to the bank's staff that it failed to live up to expectations, after it was accused of helping thousands of customers of its Swiss private banking arm to evade tax. Reuters reported today that the memo also indicated he had been called to give evidence to "lawmakers". [...]
HSBC boss Stuart Gulliver memo: “Sometimes we failed to live up to standards expected by society” February 13, 2015 HSBC boss Stuart Gulliver has admitted in a memo to the bank's staff that it failed to live up to expectations, after it was accused of helping thousands of customers of its Swiss private banking arm to evade tax. Reuters reported today that the memo also indicated he had been called to give evidence to "lawmakers". [...]
S&P 500 hits record high as Germany’s Dax passes 11,000 mark February 13, 2015 It looks like equities markets across the world will end the week on a high, after the S&P 500 hit a new high, while Germany's Dax smashed through its previous record. The S&P 500 nudged up to 2,093.57 points shortly after its opening bell this morning, slightly higher than the 2,093.55 it reached in December. [...]
AO World share price falls 10 per cent to below IPO price February 13, 2015 Shares in online white goods retailer AO World fell more than 10 per cent to 268.3p in early afternoon trading, after a broker set a "sell" rating on its stock. In a note, Panmure Gordon urged investors to "capitalise on the unjustified level of price appreciation over the last quarter". This is a high quality [...]
Eurozone GDP grew 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014 February 13, 2015 After a fractious few days for Eurozone leaders, this should come as a relief: a growth in the 18-nation bloc rose to 0.3 per cent in the final quarter of 2014, a preliminary estimate showed this morning, beating analyst estimates of 0.2 per cent. Eurostat, the region's official statistics authority, said that puts total growth [...]
Brent crude oil price tops $60 as US supply plummets February 13, 2015 The price of oil has nudged back above $60 per barrel for the first time since the end of last year, after a closely-watched report suggested supply from the US has fallen. This morning a barrel of crude oil rose more than $1 to $60.32, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 1.4 per cent to [...]
Rolls-Royce share price falls as sales drop for the first time in a decade February 13, 2015 The figures Shares at troubled engineering giant Rolls-Royce opened 3.3 per cent lower this morning after it reported a sales drop of six per cent to £13.7bn in 2014, the company's first drop in sales in a decade. Revenues fell six per cent to £14.6bn, while underlying pre-tax profits dropped eight per cent to £1.6bn (dead on [...]
Mayfair now and then: 30 years ago this £4.25m apartment sold for £285,000 February 12, 2015 Remember 1985? The first UK mobile phone call was made – by Ernie Wise, of all people – the Brixton riots took place, and Rick Astley spent five weeks at the top of the charts. It was also, according to research by upmarket estate agent Peter Wetherell, possible to buy a Mayfair apartment for as [...]
Seven charts explaining what’s going on in Greece right now February 12, 2015 Emergency talks between the new Greek government and finance ministers from 19 Eurozone countries descended into chaos last night, with the group unable to even agree on a joint statement as talks drew to a close. Today's meeting of European leaders in Brussels is now expected to be particularly awkward. With Germany vehemently opposed to [...]
Sweden just cut its interest rates to negative and announced a bond-buying scheme February 12, 2015 The Swedish krona plunged 1.73 per cent to its lowest against the dollar in five years today, after the Riksbank – the world's oldest central bank – cut its key interest rate to -0.1 per cent. The cut, from 0.25 per cent, is an effort to combat a deflationary spiral in the country. Sweden's inflation [...]
