Bank of England hires Barclays economist to join forecast team November 5, 2013 THE BANK of England said yesterday that it had appointed Barclays’ chief UK economist, Simon Hayes, to head its economic forecasting team. Hayes, who worked at the Bank for eight years before joining Barclays, will be responsible for drafting the central bank’s quarterly economic forecasts and will report to BoE chief economist Spencer Dale. No [...]
Construction in the City reaches five-year high November 5, 2013 BUILDING activity in the City has reached a five-year high thanks to rising developer confidence buoyed by a shortage of prime office space in the Square Mile. Deloitte’s latest London Office Crane Survey released yesterday shows that nine new projects got underway in the third quarter of the year with a combined floor plan of [...]
Shire jumps to record as ADHD drug is used for new disorder November 5, 2013 PHARMACEUTICAL group Shire yesterday said Vyvanse, its amphetamine-based drug prescribed to US students to control ADHD, had also been successful in treating the newly-recognised binge eating disorder (BED) in a trial. Shares in the London-listed firm rose to an all-time high after it said the drug was superior to a placebo in reducing the number [...]
Primary Health completes £70m 12-year bond as rent roll rises November 5, 2013 PRIMARY Health Properties said yesterday it has completed the raising of a floating rate £70m bond as it reported strong occupancy and rents in the third quarter of the year. The company, which buys primary health care premises and leases them back to NHS doctor surgeries, said the 12-year bond was raised at a margin [...]
Blinkx reports soaring profits from video ads November 5, 2013 ONLINE video search engine Blinkx reported booming demand for online video yesterday, which helped to boost revenues 36 per cent during the six months to 30 September. Blinkx, whose shares are already up more than 160 per cent this year, reported adjusted profit growth of 93 per cent to £15.1m, beating analyst expectations, on revenue [...]
Flybe’s architect steps down from airline after two decades November 5, 2013 FLYBE chairman Jim French has left the airline after more than 20 years, as the firm’s new boss ploughs on with a restructuring. French, who was chairman and chief executive until the role was split in the summer, will be replaced by Quintain non-executive director Simon Laffin with immediate effect, the firm announced yesterday. “Jim [...]
Somali transfer firm wins right to keep banking with Barclays November 5, 2013 A SOMALI money transfer group has won an injunction to keep its banking services with Barclays open, having launched a campaign against closure that won support from Olympic athlete Mo Farah, the United Nations and several charities. Dahabshiil, which says it is the largest African money transfer operator and has around 100,000 customers in the [...]
Kofax makes a narrow loss as software sales continue to grow November 5, 2013 KOFAX, the business software maker, yesterday reported an 8.8 per cent increase in revenue to $65.4m (£40.8m) during its first quarter. The results also revealed an operating loss of $0.6m for the quarter ending 30 September, having broken even during the same period last year. Chief executive Reynolds Bish said: “We were pleased with our [...]
Difficult year for Next Fifteen November 5, 2013 Next Fifteen, the communications group that owns five PR brands, saw a five per cent rise in revenue to £96.1m for the year ending 31 July, but saw a 66 per cent drop in its adjusted profits to £2.1m. Chairman Richard Eyre said it had been a tough year. “It remains a year of progress [...]
Davey unveils new green funding November 5, 2013 Energy secretary Ed Davey yesterday said that four offshore wind projects will receive government funding totalling £2.5m and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to renewable energy. “A mix of technologies is vital to secure Britain’s energy supplies and reduce the environmental impact of powering our homes and businesses,” he said at the Renewable UK conference in [...]
