Zoopla: Labour win in General Election would be bad for housing April 15, 2015 Zoopla, the online property portal, says that a Labour victory in next month’s General Election would be bad for the housing market. The firm believes that the party’s policies could have a particularly negative impact on first-time buyers. Zoopla say Labour’s proposal to restrict banks and building societies that accept deposits under the new Help [...]
Cuba woos US banks as sanctions ease April 15, 2015 Cuba is luring US banks to provide its citizens with financial services on American soil, as President Barack Obama continues to thaw out historically icy relations between the two nations. Since M&T Bank Corp ended its services to Cuba in 2014, the nation has been unable to get an American bank to facilitate financial transactions [...]
General Election nerves and a lack of supply causing property sales to flatline April 15, 2015 An uncertain General Election, combined with supply constraints, has led to flatlining property sales and enquiries. The latest survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) shows that London saw a decline in both enquiries and sales for the 11th month in a row. Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said: “Anecdotal evidence does suggest [...]
Nestle in exclusive talks to sell frozen food business to Brakes April 15, 2015 NESTLE said yesterday that it is in exclusive talks to sell its frozen food business Davigel to food service operator Brakes Group as part of its drive to focus on its core operations. The Swiss consumer giant, which owns household staples including Cheerio’s cereal and Kit Kat chocolate bars, has been offloading non-core businesses in [...]
City A.M. big hitters beat the heat April 15, 2015 THE sun shone on City A.M.’s annual golf day yesterday, with temperatures reaching 25 deg C as our biggest hitters walked the fairway. This year’s hot competition was at Brocket Hall, in Hertfordshire, site of one of England’s finest stately homes, and on the Palmerston Course, which is ranked as one of the country’s top 100 [...]
Burberry offsets Hong Kong woe with US growth April 15, 2015 BURBERRY yesterday posted a jump in underlying sales in the second half thanks to double-digit growth in Europe and the US, helping to offset a further slowdown in Hong Kong. The wealthy Asian financial centre is a profitable, high margin market for Burberry and accounts for around 10 per cent of sales, with tourists making [...]
Stronger markets and customer inflows drive Jupiter funds higher April 15, 2015 ASSET manager Jupiter Fund Management boosted the amount of money it manages for clients again last quarter thanks to strong market gains and client inflows. The FTSE 250 listed business, led by chief executive Maarten Slendebroek, reported a solid rise in assets from £31.9bn last quarter to £34.8bn for the three months ending March. Around [...]
Old Mutual poaches Standard Bank boss April 15, 2015 LONDON-listed insurer Old Mutual yesterday named the successor to its sitting chief executive, picking an executive from Standard Bank to take the top job later this year. Bruce Hemphill, currently the boss of Standard Bank’s wealth and insurance division, will replace current Old Mutual boss Julian Roberts in the fourth quarter of this year. “Bruce [...]
Snoop Dogg in drug delivery deal with Eaze April 15, 2015 RAPPER Snoop Dogg will be hoping for high returns as one of the backers of a marijuana delivery start-up that raised $10m (£6.8m) in a funding round yesterday, under his company Casa Verde Capital. Silicon Valley firm DCM Venture is also backing Eaze – dubbed the “Uber for weed”. It does not directly supply marijuana, [...]
BNY Mellon hit by £126m fine for failing to keep client money safe April 15, 2015 GIANT custody bank BNY Mellon is paying a £126m fine for failing to properly protect client funds, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said yesterday. BNY is the world’s largest custodian, responsible for keeping assets safe – but in fact, had the bank collapsed, clients’ funds may not have been entirely safe. Regulators found the London [...]