Growth in retail sales dips after jump at Easter May 28, 2014 RETAIL sales climbed steadily with the continuing recovery in May, but at a slower pace than in April, following the effect of a late Easter Weekend. In a survey of major retailers, 38 per cent said that their sales volumes were up in comparison to May last year, while 22 per cent said they had [...]
Twitter founder’s startup Square moves into small business loans May 28, 2014 TWITTER founder Jack Dorsey is expanding his mobile payments startup, Square, to help small businesses with personalised lending with repayments that adjust based on a firm’s cashflow. Square’s hope is that by using the vast volumes of data it already has on the merchants who use it, Square will be able to offer unique loans [...]
Savings dive as confident Brits splash the cash May 28, 2014 HOUSEHOLDS’ annual savings are set to fall by as much as £800 over the next five years, as confidence returns and spending takes over, according to a report out today from the Post Office and the Centre for Economics and Business Studies. Last year, the average household had £3,780 to save after costs such as housing [...]
Nationwide and Co-op Bank get top marks from small businesses May 28, 2014 MUTUAL lenders offer the best current accounts for small firms, according to a poll published today by the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Chambers of Commerce. Challenger banks also performed well, while the biggest high street banks came further down the league table. The results form part of a new website which aims to help [...]
Auditors are told to get tough with banks on loss provisions May 28, 2014 AUDITORS for British banks and building societies are not scrutinising the firms’ books closely enough, despite repeated warnings that auditors should have caught some of the warning signs ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, a watchdog said yesterday. The Financial Reporting Council flagged up poor testing of loan impairment models and a widespread reluctance among [...]
Metso rejects Weir’s £3.7bn takeover offer May 28, 2014 SCOTTISH engineering firm Weir yesterday abandoned its takeover bid for Finnish peer Metso, after a second offer was rejected by Metso’s board. FTSE 100-listed Weir’s improved bid would have valued Metso at around €4.5bn (£3.7bn), up by around 20 per cent from April’s approach. But Metso’s board said that the revised offer “continues to significantly [...]
De La Rue’s shares soar after it unveils 37 per cent rise in profit May 28, 2014 SHARES in De La Rue surged almost eight per cent yesterday, after the British banknote printer reported a 37 per cent rise in pre-tax profits. The FTSE 250-quoted firm saw profit rise to £59.8m last year despite overcapacity in the banknote printing market, thanks to a three-year improvement plan that included cost cuts. Revenue rose [...]
Bill Gates sells down stake in outsourcer G4S May 28, 2014 MICROSOFT co-founder Bill Gates has sold off part of his stake in G4S, the scandal-struck outsourcing firm said yesterday. Multi-billionaire Gates owned the shares through his companies Cascade Investment and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. It is thought that he sold a small part of his stake, bringing his holding down to just [...]
Euro firms see growth returning May 28, 2014 OPTIMISTIC firms and consumers yesterday added to hopes that the Eurozone economy can at last return to sustainable growth in the coming months. But the bounceback has not yet taken hold – weak data was released from Germany, France and Italy yesterday, showing even the core countries are still struggling. Unemployment increased unexpectedly in Germany, rising [...]
Serco awarded train contract May 28, 2014 SERCO, the scandal-hit outsourcing firm, has been awarded a 15-year contract to operate the Caledonian Sleeper service train from London to Scotland. The FTSE 100 firm, which was accused of overcharging on a previous and unrelated government contract, will earn up to £800m in revenue over the contract period, of which £180m will be in [...]
