Reasons to be cheerful as economic confidence hits record high February 6, 2014 Confidence in recovery is at its highest level ever The Bank of England set to hike growth forecasts Upbeat British businesses ramp up hiring this year CONFIDENCE in the economy is at its highest level since records began in the 1970s and unemployment is set to dive to 6.6 per cent this year, according to [...]
Cameron warns a Scottish exit would ruin Britain’s brand February 6, 2014 DAVID Cameron will begin a PR charm offensive today in a bid to persuade Scots to vote no in the independence referendum later this year. “We want you to stay,” the Prime Minister is set to say in a speech at the Olympic Park in Stratford, where he will invoke the spirit of the 2012 [...]
Second wave of tube strikes looms February 6, 2014 THE TWO-DAY Tube strike ended yesterday – but the same disruption will hit the city again next week unless union bosses and London Underground can reach a truce. The two sides will meet again today at resolution service Acas to seek common ground in TfL’s plans to cut a net 750 jobs, shut ticket halls [...]
Pension black hole closed by surge in stock markets February 6, 2014 BOOMING stock markets helped close the black hole in FTSE 350 corporate pension plans last year, allowing schemes to cover the costs of their pensions for the first time in years. Funding levels in aggregate rose to 103 per cent for the year ending December 2013, up from 93 per cent a year earlier. The [...]
Why a Yes vote in Scotland would mean chaos in Westminster February 6, 2014 THE penny is beginning to drop in boardrooms across the City. It is all too possible, though still not the most likely outcome, that the Scottish electorate will decide to vote to leave the UK. The polls still show a large lead for the No side, albeit one that is shrinking. Large numbers of voters [...]
SAC’s Martoma found guilty of insider trading February 6, 2014 FORMER SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Mathew Martoma was found guilty yesterday of engaging in what prosecutors called the most lucrative insider trading scheme in US history. A jury in New York found Martoma guilty on all three of the conspiracy and securities fraud charges that he faced, over a scheme that allowed SAC Capital [...]
Critical blog on Blinkx was based on research paid for by investors February 6, 2014 ONLINE video search company Blinkx last night said it was “exploring all options” after it was revealed that the critical blog posting, that caused its stock to plummet 40 per cent, was paid for by two US investment firms. The admission follows the build-up of a number of short positions on the company, raising concerns [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 07 February 2014 February 6, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Unease over Microsoft reshuffle Some of Microsoft’s major shareholders are expressing unease over this week’s management reshuffle, in which founder Bill Gates moved from chairman to a new role as technology adviser. Investors broadly welcomed the choice of Satya Nadella to become chief executive, but three of Microsoft’s top 20 shareholders voiced disappointment [...]
Weaker outlook sparks worries over LinkedIn February 6, 2014 LINKEDIN, the professional online network, announced disappointing full year revenue forecast of $2bn (£1.2bn) last night, below expectations of $2.2bn, causing shares to plummet as much as 15 per cent in after hours trading. Despite its weaker outlook LinkedIn reported solid results for the fourth quarter of 2013, with revenue increasing by 47 per cent [...]
Twitter shares collapse by 25pc as investors unfollow the stock February 6, 2014 SHARES in Twitter plummeted as much as 25 per cent yesterday as disappointment in the social media firm’s user growth led investors to dump their stock. On Wednesday Twitter reported its monthly active user base had grown to 241m during the three months to the end of December, an increase of only 3.8 per cent, [...]
