Consumer confidence slides October 30, 2013 Consumer confidence in the UK dipped for the first time this year in October, according to a widely-regarded index published this morning. The measure, conducted by research group GfK, slipped from minus 10 to minus 11 – having improved from minus 27 back in April. “We are still higher than at any time since December [...]
PwC snaps up Booz & Co as the accountant shifts to consultancy October 30, 2013 ACCOUNTANCY giant PwC added more firepower to its consultancy business yesterday by snapping up Booz & Co for an undisclosed sum. While it was announced as a merger, the deal combines PwC’s $32bn annual revenues with a US strategy specialist that generates an estimated $1bn a year. PwC, which already makes around 29 per cent [...]
Royal Mail workers delay strike action as negotiations continue October 30, 2013 STRIKE action by Royal Mail workers, planned for Monday, was called off yesterday after progress was made between the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Royal Mail management. The CWU said it is committed to reaching an agreement by 13 November in talks over pay and pensions in a joint statement issued with the Royal Mail. [...]
Look at the profits not Jenkins’ rhetoric October 30, 2013 ANTONY Jenkins says Barclays’ latest results show the benefits of its diversity as a group. But that’s what you’d expect a chief executive to say who was brought in to buff up the bank’s post-Libor reputation. The investment bank remains Barclays’ single biggest source of profits: 57 per cent of the group’s profit before tax [...]
Barclays faces foreign exchange fixing probe October 30, 2013 BARCLAYS yesterday joined the list of banks dragged into an international investigation into alleged efforts to manipulate foreign exchange benchmarks. The probe was revealed as the bank posted a fall in profits, driven by poor trading revenue and the costs of its streamlining plans. Underlying profits fell 26 per cent on the year to £1.39bn [...]
JP Morgan’s top currency dealer on leave October 30, 2013 JP MORGAN has put its chief currency dealer in London on leave, it emerged yesterday, amid an investigation into alleged currency market manipulation. Richard Usher, head of spot G10 currency trading, joined the investment bank from Royal Bank of Scotland in May 2010. He is a full-time employee at JP Morgan and has not been [...]
Starbucks’ 2014 outlook lower than expected October 30, 2013 COFFEE chain Starbucks saw its profit forecast for 2014 fall short of Wall Street’s expectations, despite fourth quarter profits that jumped 34 per cent as more customers flocked to its branches. Starbucks share price fell three per cent in after hours trading to $78.20 as investors reacted to the news that the company expects 2014 [...]
Twitter faced with a lawsuit just days before its expected float October 30, 2013 TWITTER was sued yesterday for $124m (£77.5m) by two companies claiming the private business fraudulently had them organise a private sale of shares to stoke investor interest for its upcoming public offering, then cancelled it. “Twitter never intended to complete the offering on behalf of Twitter stockholders, in the private market, thereby causing substantial damages [...]
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank reverse losses October 30, 2013 CLYDESDALE and Yorkshire Bank owner National Australia Bank (NAB) reported pre-tax profits of £127m for the two banks during the year ending 30 September, up from a loss of £183m last year. “The restructuring of our business over the past 18 months has been substantially completed a year ahead of schedule. The positive impact of [...]
Shares in Next soar as it raises profit forecast October 30, 2013 NEXT shares jumped 4.7 per cent yesterday after the clothing and homeware group posted better than expected sales and lifted its full-year profit forecast. The FTSE 100 retailer, which has 700 stores in the UK and overseas, said that while trading had been volatile, sales increased by 4.3 per cent in the three months to [...]
