Royal Mail’s profits double pre-share sale November 27, 2013 SOARING margins boosted revenues at Royal Mail in the six months to September and doubled the firm’s operating profits, the postal operator said yesterday. In the months leading up to its privatisation the group’s revenues increased to £4.52bn – a rise of two per cent on the same period of 2012. In part that was driven [...]
Vince Cable warns share price may plunge despite early jumps November 27, 2013 IT IS far too soon to judge whether or not the taxpayer lost out in the privatisation of Royal Mail, business secretary Vince Cable said yesterday, arguing that the shares could fall a long way. He said it could take anywhere from three months to two years to judge the market value of the firm. [...]
Bottom Line: Hard work starts now results are delivered November 27, 2013 VINCE Cable is right: it’s probably too soon to be booking losses on behalf of the taxpayer for the Royal Mail share sale. The stock rose yet again yesterday, with investors impressed by a set of results that delivered but did not beat forecasts. However the Royal Mail’s bankers handled the float, at least the [...]
ECB lays blame for market risk on taper gossip November 27, 2013 TURBULENCE in global markets is an escalating risk to the Eurozone’s financial stability, even as funding challenges for the region’s banks begin to abate, according to the European Central Bank (ECB). Yesterday’s financial stability review from the ECB says that concerns around turbulent markets have grown since May, blamed mainly on the expectation of major [...]
Pound is lifted by UK growth as retail sales and confidence slow November 27, 2013 STERLING jumped yesterday after the UK statistics office confirmed the economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of the year, driven by investment and consumer spending. But sentiment was dampened by a separate business survey showing disappointingly flat retail sales this month. This morning another survey shows consumer confidence rising at its [...]
The Walbrook building almost fully let November 27, 2013 THE WALBROOK in the City is almost fully let after securing three new tenants. After lying vacant for years, its owner Minerva said yesterday that DNB Bank, the Norwegian financial services group; Xchanging, the outsourcing firm; and insurance broker Arthur J Gallagher have taken a total of 320,000 square feet. It now has six tenants [...]
Nationwide succeeds in raising £500m with new equity security November 27, 2013 BUILDING society Nationwide yesterday announced it has more than covered its books in a £500m capital-raising exercise with a new equity instrument. It had aimed to raise between £300m and £500m. The lender wanted to improve its capital position, and tested the waters with the innovative security, called core capital deferred shares (CCDS). However the lender [...]
PM ready to fight on EU migration November 27, 2013 DAVID Cameron’s calls for tighter rules on European migration yesterday sparked a row over free movement within the EU. The Prime Minister called for a package of measures to ease the impact of migration on the UK economy when restrictions on Romania and Bulgaria are lifted in January 2014. The changes include controls on when [...]
Carney worried risks building in housing market November 27, 2013 BANK of England governor Mark Carney has indicated he fears a new bubble could build in the housing market, ahead of the publication of the Financial Stability Report today. In a letter to Treasury Select Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie, Carney said he is preparing measures that could stabilise the market, should his intervention be needed. “The [...]
London property flotation gets a boost from Dubai’s Expo win November 27, 2013 THE PLANNED London flotation of Damac, the Dubai-based property group, received a boost last night when Dubai was chosen as the venue for Expo 2020, beating off stiff competition from cities in Brazil, Turkey and Russia. Potential investors in the upcoming float had asked for the bookbuilding process, which should have closed on Tuesday evening, [...]
