EU sanctions as Ukraine burns February 20, 2014 HOPES of a resolution to the growing crisis in Ukraine have faded with violent clashes claiming the lives of 75 people since Tuesday. European leaders last night voted to impose sanctions on the country after talks between three EU foreign ministers and the Ukrainian government broke down without a resolution. The sanctions include asset freezes, [...]
Londoners hit hardest by tax on inheritance February 20, 2014 LONDON and the south east of England are forking out 50 per cent of Britain’s inheritance tax bills, fuelling fears that the levy has turned into yet another tax on the capital. Londoners alone shell out as much inheritance tax as the north east, north west, east midlands and west midlands, Scotland, Wales and Northern [...]
Lloyds brings in the machines with plan for mini-banks February 20, 2014 LLOYDS is looking at setting up a range of mini-branches across London with fewer staff and more machines, City A.M. understands. The aim is to plugs gaps in the bank’s coverage across the capital, while keeping costs low. It marks a new stage in the banking sector’s plans to cope as branches receive fewer visits [...]
Mortgage boom grows as house prices keep soaring February 20, 2014 BRITAIN’S housing boom grew again in January as mortgage lending hit new post-crisis highs, the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported. The boom in lending came along side soaring prices – in London the average house cost £450,000 in December, up 12.3 per cent on the year. The intense pressure in the market could lead the [...]
The only solution to the housing crisis: build, build and build February 20, 2014 BRITAIN is building again at last – or so the government would like us to believe. On the face of it, it has a point: the latest homebuilding statistics reveal that starts on new homes in 2013 totalled 122,590, up 23 per cent on the previous year, and the highest since 2007, according to the [...]
RBS will slash thousands of jobs next week February 20, 2014 ROYAL Bank of Scotland is expected to announce tens of thousands of job cuts next Thursday as part of plans to reduce its cost base. The move comes as part of a retrenchment of RBS spearheaded by chief executive Ross McEwan, who took the helm in October, and said he wanted to cut the group’s [...]
Shell sells Oz to Vitol for $2.6bn February 20, 2014 ROYAL Dutch Shell last night announced a $2.6bn (£1.5bn) deal to sell its Australian downstream assets, including a refinery and 870 retail sites, to energy and commodity trading firm Vitol. “Australia remains important to Shell, but we are making tough portfolio choices to improve the company’s overall competitiveness,” said chief executive Ben van Beurden. The [...]
HP’s recovery is bearing fruit February 20, 2014 HEWLETT Packard (HP) beat expectations last night with a fall in first quarter revenue that came in below estimates and an improved outlook for its 2014 earnings led by growth in its enterprise business. HP posted revenue of $28.2bn (£17bn) during its first quarter, down slightly from $28.4bn a year earlier and earnings of $1.4bn, [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 21 February 2014 February 20, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Business Wire halts high speed traders Business Wire, which has published corporate news releases in the US for the last half century, will stop selling direct feeds to high-speed traders, amid concerns that the practice gives the firms an unfair advantage over other investors. Warren Buffett, whose conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway owns Business Wire, [...]
Bank’s Weale points to early 2015 rate hike February 20, 2014 BANK of England policymaker Martin Weale has revealed his own estimate of when monetary policy might tighten, suggesting a rate hike could come before the middle of next year. Weale added: “Obviously I couldn’t rule out the need for a rate rise coming earlier than that”. The monetary policy committee (MPC) member said yesterday that [...]
