Expansion costs knock a fifth off profits at Asos April 2, 2014 ASOS boss Nick Robertson admitted yesterday that launching in China had been tougher than anticipated after start-up losses in the country and investment in expanding warehouses elsewhere dragged first half profits down by 22 per cent. The online fashion retailer made a pre-tax profit of £20.1m in the six months to 28 February compared with [...]
Analyst Views: Did Asos’ update change your outlook for the group’s strategy? April 2, 2014 JOHN STEVENSON | PEEL HUNT With significant global growth potential remaining and an earnings margin potential that is materially above current performance, we believe the recent sell-off provides a good buying opportunity, noting that a pick-up in more recent trading levels after a soft February are likely to provide a step up in sales momentum. [...]
Top JP Morgan boss quits bank 27 years after joining as intern April 2, 2014 BLYTHE Masters, head of JP Morgan Chase’s commodities business, has quit the bank after 27 years. Masters is not joining Mercuria, the Swiss-based trading house buying up JP Morgan’s physical commodities business, although she will oversee the sale and transition. In an internal memo, chief executive Jamie Dimon and corporate and investment bank chief executive [...]
Amazon to challenge Apple with $99 fire TV April 2, 2014 AMAZON will enter the living room with a video streaming set top box called Fire TV. Chief executive Jeff Bezos described the rival to Apple TV as a: “Tiny box, huge specs, tons of content, incredible price”. It will pipe movies and TV shows directly from Amazon’s video service onto TV. No UK release date [...]
Shawbrook Bank boss quits after less than 18 months in the job April 2, 2014 IAN HENDERSON yesterday resigned as chief executive of challenger bank Shawbrook, after joining in December 2012. The outgoing boss gave no explanation for his exit so soon after joining the bank. Previously he was chief operating officer of Barclays Wealth, and had also been chief executive of RBS International, leading its business banking arms. Henderson has been [...]
Virtu Financial delays float plan after high speed trading furore April 2, 2014 HIGH-frequency trading firm Virtu Financial is reportedly set to delay plans to float, following the renewed public interest in the high-speed transaction method. This week, it was revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking into high-speed trading, with spokesmen suggesting that the method could breach insider trading laws. A newly released book [...]
Aldermore: We have outgrown challenger label April 2, 2014 ALDERMORE’S chief executive yesterday claimed the lender has outgrown the challenger bank label and is a now a well-established player in the market. The bank reported profits of £22.4m in 2013 yesterday, smashing its previous earnings of £1.5m in 2012. Its lending volumes soared by 64 per cent in the year to £3.4bn, which is [...]
City watchdog confirms move to Olympic Park April 2, 2014 STRATFORD moved closer yesterday to becoming London’s next business district after securing the Financial Conduct Authority as its first tenant. The City watchdog confirmed plans to move its 3,000 staff from its current offices in Canary Wharf to a new £2bn development next to the Olympic Park known as the International Quarter. The deal is [...]
Shortage of finance staff hits businesses’ growth prospects April 2, 2014 COMPANY bosses are struggling to find sufficient trained accountants and finance staff, according to a report published yesterday by recruitment firm Robert Half. The study found 60 per cent of finance directors believe the war for talent in the sector has intensified in the past year. And 84 per cent say the UK has entered [...]
Rising threat of cyber attacks April 2, 2014 A group of top US regulators yesterday warned about the threat of rising cyber-attacks on bank websites and cash machines, urging the industry to put proper measures in place to guard against fraud. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council said it had seen a rise of so-called denial-of-service attacks on bank websites, which were sometimes [...]
