Here are the books Bill Gates thinks you should have read this year December 10, 2014 With nothing but a technology empire to oversee and the world's largest charitable foundation to run, it's only natural that Bill Gates should have plenty of time set aside for reading. Which is, presumably, why he Microsoft founder and richest man in the world, according to Forbes, has published a list of his favourite reads this [...]
FCA bosses give up their bonuses over insurance scandal December 10, 2014 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said today directors including Martin Wheatley, its chief executive, will give up their bonuses as a result of an investigation into a botched press briefing over insurance. The organisation said today that Wheatley, director of supervision Clive Adamson, director of communications and international Zitah McMillan and director of markets David [...]
London opens its first “Cereal Killer” cafe: Here are the capital’s most gimmicky cafes December 10, 2014 Forget the "weather bomb" – if you're in the capital and you're partial to grains, today's biggest story is the opening of Cereal Killer, the new London cafe that serves nothing but cereal. According to owners Gary and Alan Keery – identical, bearded twins – the Brick Lane venue is a "nostalgic cafe displaying hundreds [...]
Third shareholder gets into bed with Qataris over Canary Wharf deal December 10, 2014 The Qatari sovereign wealth fund has persuaded yet another shareholder to back its 350p-a-share offer for Songbird Estates, the owner of Canary Wharf. The offer, from a joint venture between the Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield Property Partners, has already had backing from Madison International Realty and Third Avenue Management. The latest expression of support, [...]
McDonald’s results: Golden Arches lose their sheen December 8, 2014 The figures Fast food giant McDonald's released disappointing full-year results today: not only have US sales dropped 4.6 per cent year-on-year in November, but sales in Europe are down two per cent and sales in Asia, the Middle East and Africa fell four per cent. That means global comparable sales dropped 2.2 per cent during [...]
It’s official: The Bank of England says mortgage borrowers could cope with an interest rate rise December 8, 2014 The majority of mortgage borrowers would be fine if interest rates rose, reckons the Bank of England. According to the Bank, if interest rates rose by two percentage points, just four per cent of mortgage borrowers would need to "take action", ie. cut their spending or work longer hours. That represents 1.3 per cent of [...]
Quindell share price plummets as it hires PwC to carry out review into accounting December 8, 2014 Shares in embattled insurance outsourcer Quindell plunged as much as 16 per cent as the market opened this morning, after it announced it had hired accounting giant PwC to carry out an independent review into its accounting practices. The company, whose shares have lost more than 90 per cent in value since April, said the review [...]
Berkeley reports another stonking set of profits December 5, 2014 The figures Housebuilding giant Berkeley Group reported this morning that profits before tax leaped 79.9 per cent to £305m in the six months to the end of October. Revenue also rose, to a touch over £1bn, a jump of 24.5 per cent, while earnings before share increased 78.6 per cent to 178.6p. Why it's interesting [...]
JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon is “clear of cancer” December 5, 2014 JP Morgan boss Jame Dimon has told employees he is clear of throat cancer. In an internal memo sent to staff, the 58-year-old boss of the US' largest bank said there was "no evidence of cancer left in my body" after CAT and PET scans three months after treatment. The good news is that the [...]
US non-farm payroll: The dollar has gone through the roof December 5, 2014 The dollar leaped 0.34 per cent against the pound to its second-highest since October last year as US non-farm payroll figures smashed all expectations. The dollar hit 0.6402 against the pound as official statistics from the US showed non-farm payroll – which measures the number of new jobs created – rose by 321,000 in November, [...]
