Schroders flies high thanks to fixed income July 31, 2015 ASSET manager Schroders yesterday beat forecasts with a sharp rise in first-half profits and nearly doubled its new business, thanks to a particularly strong performance in its fixed income division. The FTSE 100-quoted firm unveiled a 17 per cent rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to £305.7m, while net inflows rose to £8.8bn, exceeding forecasts of [...]
BT’s profits rise ahead of sports pay-TV launch July 31, 2015 BT Group yesterday posted a solid rise in first-quarter profits and said it is on track to meet full-year expectations, thanks to strong demand for its superfast fibre broadband and a flurry of customers signing up for its new pay-TV football coverage. The telecoms company pulled in 217,000 new super-fast fibre broadband customers and 60,000 [...]
French to test possible MH370 wreckage July 31, 2015 DEBRIS found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion is to be transported to France to find out whether it is from the missing flight MH370, Malaysia’s Prime Minister has said. Reports suggest the two-metre long object is very likely to be from a Boeing 777.
Tunisia and Greece crises cost Thomas Cook £25m July 31, 2015 TRAVEL operator Thomas Cook said the terror attack in Tunisia, together with uncertainty over a potential Grexit could hit full year earnings by £25m while the strong pound also took its toll on the group. But chief executive Peter Fankhauser said that overall it had traded ahead of expectations in the third quarter, recording its [...]
Can we please just stop putting pop-up beaches everywhere? July 31, 2015 WHEN will this trend of making pop-up beaches in office courtyards end? This summer has seen beaches inexplicably appearing all over London’s financial districts, from Canary Wharf’s beach volleyball to Finsbury Park’s beach rugby today. Now even office estates out in the sticks are catching on. What have you done!? West London’s Chiswick Park is [...]
Listing alpaca farming and ninja practice on your CV “just a bit too personal”, warn City recruiters July 31, 2015 Some readers may remember the 80’s trend for writing completely useless and “quirky” info into one’s CV. Sadly, with the advent of LinkedIn, talking about your love of sky-diving and extensive collection of beard combs doesn’t always win favours with the people in Human Resources. But some of the most elite recruitment firms in the [...]
Countrywide share price slumps after UK housing market slowdown July 31, 2015 Shares in the UK’s biggest estate agency Countrywide tumbled four per cent yesterday after posting a sharp fall in profits, blaming a “difficult housing market” and the uncertainty in the run-up to the General Election. The company, which owns estate agencies including Hamptons, Blundells and John D Wood, said profit before tax decreased [...]
Intercontinental profits rise as merger talks heat up July 31, 2015 INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group (IHG) posted a rise in first half sales and profits yesterday as rumours of a merger between the hotelier and Starwood Hotels & Resorts re-emerged. The company, which denied the takeover talks, reported a nine per cent rise in operating profits to $337m (£216m) while revenue per available room increased by 5.1 [...]
Xchanging share price plummets and David Andrews quits as results shock market July 31, 2015 A dramatic share price slump, performance issues and a chief executive departure…sadly Xchanging is in familiar territory. The business outsourcing group saw the value of its shares fall more than 22 per cent yesterday, after first-half results showed larger-than-expected losses from its procurement unit, as it announced boss Ken Lever’s resignation. Revenue slumped 2.8 per [...]
Eurozone recovery finally gaining traction as Spanish economy grows one per cent July 31, 2015 The Eurozone economy is picking up steam, with bullish figures released yesterday suggesting the currency bloc could be about to turn a corner. Spain’s economy grew by one per cent in three months to June, its fastest pace for seven years. The economy is now 3.1 per cent larger than it was a year ago, [...]
