No interest rate rise expected until early 2016 May 11, 2015 THE BANK of England held interest rates again yesterday, keeping the base rate at 0.5 per cent. Economists believe that the Conservative victory in last week’s General Election may mean rates remain low for longer, as lower spending under the Tories than Labour keeps inflationary pressures down. “The Bank of England holding rates at 0.5 [...]
Britons splashing out on more luxuries May 11, 2015 BRITISH consumers are splashing out more on luxuries such as eating out and holidays due to low inflation and improving wage growth, according to Barclaycard data published today. Spending rose by 4.5 per cent in the year to April, with entertainment and travel up by 12.7 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively. Spending on [...]
Production rise but Lonmin still swings to a loss May 11, 2015 MINING group Lonmin beat market expectations, despite falling to a pre-tax loss of $77m (£49m) in the six months to 31 March. The group, which specialises in platinum, posted a profit of $26m in the first half of 2014. The company also saw net debt grow in the period, to $282m, which it attributed to [...]
Afren defaults on bond interest payment as restructure rolls on May 11, 2015 SHARES in oil firm Afren were down by 1.87 per cent yesterday, after the company announced it had defaulted on an interest payment of $12.8m (£8.22m) due at the end of last week. The group had previously announced that it would fail to pay the interest due on its 2019 bond notes, but added it [...]
Good news at Gatwick bumps UK Oil & Gas up May 11, 2015 SHARES in UK Oil and Gas Investments (UKOG), the firm behind the oil discovery at Horse Hill near Gatwick, were up six per cent in early trading yesterday, after estimates for the amount of oil in the area’s sandstone rocks were upgraded. The new estimates are separate to the one made last month, which claimed [...]
Greene King and Spirit deal gets amber light from market regulator May 11, 2015 The Competition and Markets authority (CMA) yesterday gave pub company Greene King and Spirit a week to sort out hurdles that could halt their planned £774m merger. The authority said the current proposal would “substantially” lessen competition in the pubs sector. However, it pointed to difficulties in only 16 locations, which is small considering that [...]
Death rate rise propels profits at funeral provider Dignity May 11, 2015 An unusually high death rate helped Dignity, the UK’s only listed funeral provider, make higher profits last quarter. Deaths across the UK rose to 175,000 for the three months ending March, up nearly 20 per cent compared with last year. Revenue followed trend and rose to £85.5m from £69.1m in 2014. “The year has started [...]
Insurance customers may be ripped off by poor sales information May 11, 2015 Insurance firms received a slap on the wrist from the City watchdog yesterday for failing to provide proper information to customers on the costs of various payment options. The Financial Conduct Authority’s study found that insurance sellers do not always make it clear how much customers will pay if they pick various different payment options. For [...]
Daniel Stewart back on AIM with adviser May 11, 2015 CITY stockbroker Daniel Stewart said yesterday it hoped to raise £1m to strengthen its balance sheet as its shares began trading on AIM again. Under exchange rules, the firm was forced to suspend trading after its nominated adviser (Nomad) Westhouse Securities resigned. Beaumont Cornish Limited has now taken up the role. As part of the deal, [...]
Under fire fund boss grabs top gong at awards May 11, 2015 IT’S BEEN a good couple of weeks for Alliance Trust chief exec Katherine Garrett-Cox. First of all she survives a challenge to her authority from US activist investor Elliott Advisors. And secondly, last night, she won the coveted Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award for 2015. While some shareholders remain underwhelmed by Garrett-Cox’s performance during recent years, [...]
