Lobbying crackdown will hit trade unions hardest July 17, 2013 NEW LAWS designed to clamp down on the lobbying industry will impose tough restrictions on the political activities of Labour-supporting trade unions, according to a draft published yesterday. The coalition bill promises a “lobbying register” of contact between lobbyists and politicians and was drawn up after newspapers last month exposed politicians who were willing to accept [...]
Government releases draft electricity market reforms July 17, 2013 THE DEPARTMENT of Energy and Climate Change yesterday published its draft electricity market reform (EMR) delivery plan, which is looking to raise £110bn to invest in new electricity infrastructure by 2020. The draft document – which is under consultation until 25 September – gives further details on the Contracts for Difference support mechanism and strike [...]
Gay marriage becomes law July 17, 2013 SAME-SEX couples will be allowed to marry in England and Wales, after government legislation became law yesterday afternoon. The bill received Royal Assent from the Queen following months of vicious debate and survived last-ditch attempts by backbench MPs and peers to derail its progress. David Cameron said “we can be proud of as a country” after [...]
eBay markets a solid report but sees headwinds July 17, 2013 E-COMMERCE giant eBay reported solid second-quarter results yesterday but chief executive John Donahoe warned of economic “headwinds” in the second half of the year from Europe and Korea. Those comments, and weaker-than-expected third-quarter forecasts, sent shares down six per cent in after-hours trading. “It’s not a quarter in which they absolutely crushed it,” said Ron [...]
Handelsbanken profits rise as it plans 12 more branches in the UK July 17, 2013 BRITISH operations of Nordic lender Handelsbanken expanded rapidly again in the first half of the year, the group reported yesterday. Operating profits in the UK increased five per cent on the year to 276m Swedish krona (£27.6m). Household lending jumped 28 per cent to £3.1bn, while corporate lending rose 19 per cent on the previous [...]
Watchdogs tighten up on Libor July 17, 2013 INTERNATIONAL regulators have ordered watchdogs around the world to clean up financial benchmarks in a co-ordinated effort to stop any repeat of last year’s Libor scandal. The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) wants increased monitoring of data submission and compilation as well as improved complaints systems. The regulators also want indices to be updated [...]
Intel suffers as consumers flee the desktop computer market July 17, 2013 INTEL last night slashed its year-end financial forecast as the personal computer business loses market share to tablets and smartphones. The world’s top chipmaker said second quarter profits were down 29 per cent year-on-year to $2bn (£1.3bn), below Wall Street expectations. It also reduced its year-end target for personal computer chip sales, although the decline in [...]
Amex sees its earnings rise on higher fees July 17, 2013 CREDIT card company American Express reported a five per cent increase in quarterly profit as it charged higher fees and earned more commissions on its cards. American Express, which gets the bulk of its US billed business from affluent corporate customers, said cardmember spending increased eight per cent in the quarter, adjusted for foreign currency [...]
IBM raises its full-year outlook on cost-cutting and strong data July 17, 2013 IBM, the world’s largest technology services company, raised its full-year outlook as it cut costs and reported second-quarter earnings that beat estimates. International Business Machines said excluding a $1bn (£657m) restructuring charge related to job cuts, non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings per share forecasts were being raised to at least $16.90 from $16.70. Full-year [...]
Brit Insurance sells subsidiary July 17, 2013 BRIT Insurance, the sponsor of the England and Wales cricket team, has sold its stake in an online business insurer in a management buyout, it emerged yesterday. The Lloyd’s of London insurer sold a 37 per cent holding in Simply Business in a deal that values the online broker at more than £50m, according to [...]
