Bottom Line: This is how to make a giant bank work May 6, 2014 UBS has not had an easy ride in recent years, but other banks should now look up to its example of how to turn a business around. The fixed income squeeze is putting pressure on all the big investment banks – yesterday, UBS and Barclays reported falling incomes in the bond trading units, following others [...]
Review of City prosecutions May 6, 2014 THE CITY watchdog’s workload has expanded so much since the financial crisis struck that the Treasury yesterday announced a review of how it was coping. In 2009-10, the authorities issued £33.6m in fines. That rose to £432.2m in 2012-13. Chancellor George Osborne said the review was intended to ensure “regulators pursue a model of enforcement that [...]
Woodford in for Sherborne May 6, 2014 FUND manager Neil Woodford has taken a stake in Edward Bramson’s investment vehicle Sherborne Investors, one of the first investments made by Woodford since he set up his own company. Woodford Investment Management has taken over four per cent in the listed vehicle, which previously pursued a takeover of private equity outfit 3i. Woodford is [...]
Warning to UK over runaway house prices May 6, 2014 ECONOMISTS from a group of the world’s leading wealthy countries yesterday issued a stark warning over the UK’s property market, advising British authorities to take action against surging house prices. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) added to concerns that the UK’s recent house price growth was out of sync with weak wages, [...]
Countrywide and Zoopla lifted on wave of housing market recovery May 6, 2014 BRITAIN’S largest estate agency Countrywide and online property website Zoopla reaped the rewards of a booming property market with strong sales and earnings yesterday. Countrywide, which owns more than 50 high street agencies reported a 35 per cent jump in first-quarter income to £157.1m, thanks to strong sales volumes across all of its divisions. Chief [...]
Frozen helps to boost Disney May 6, 2014 DISNEY beat market expectations last night, helped along by popular animated film Frozen. Shares in the media company rose in after-hours trading after it posted net income for the quarter of $1.9bn (£1bn) from $1.5bn a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were $1.11 a share, beating analyst expectations of $0.96. In results posted a year ago, [...]
Groupon sees losses grow May 6, 2014 DEAL site Groupon yesterday announced first quarter losses that exceeded the figure it lost a year previously. The company saw its share price tumble in after-hours trading, after it reported a loss of $37.8m (£22m) on revenue of $757.6m for the first quarter of the year. A year ago, Groupon lost a penny a share [...]
Balfour Beatty boss quits after profit warning May 6, 2014 One-fifth was wiped off the share price of Balfour Beatty yesterday, after the infrastructure firm issued its third profit warning in 18 months and said its chief executive was stepping down “with immediate effect”. The FTSE 250-listed company said that while most parts of the group were trading in line with management’s expectations, it expected [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of Balfour Beatty’s update and CEO resignation? May 6, 2014 STEPHEN RAWLINSON | WHITMAN HOWARDThe construction markets are improving across the world, especially in the UK?and the US, but Balfour Beatty is getting worse. I think it will take a further 12 to 18 months to improve the business and things may get worse along the way. I think the company could be a takeover [...]
No pay rise for Royal Mail exec May 6, 2014 ROYAL Mail top boss Moya Greene will not be awarded a pay increase, the renumeration committee of the postal company has announced. In a decision that will please business secretary Vince Cable, who has called on FTSE 100 companies to curb executive pay, Greene will see her annual salary frozen. Greene received £1.224m in 2012-13; [...]
