Billionaire backers Wilbur Ross and Stanhope Investments cut Virgin Money stake April 14, 2015 Billionaire investors Wilbur Ross and Stanhope Investments last night cut their stake in high street bank Virgin Money by selling $354m (£240m) of shares in the Richard Branson-backed venture. The bank, which floated last November by raising £500m, valuing the business at £1.25bn, is co-owned by US investor Ross and Abu Dhabi-based fund Stanhope alongside [...]
Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis heads to Washington ahead of crunch talks April 14, 2015 Greece’s finance minister Yanis Varoufakis will jet off to the US tonight to meet President Barack Obama, as well as the lawyer who helped Greece restructure its debt in 2012. Varoufakis will meet Obama tomorrow. It will be followed by meetings with European Central Bank head Mario Draghi on Friday, Secretary of the Treasury Jack [...]
Potential bubbles are a growing concern April 14, 2015 INVESTORS are concerned about bubbles in both bonds and equities, according to survey figures released yesterday by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The proportion of global investors that believed equity markets are overvalued rose to a net 25 per cent – the highest level since 2000. However, it remains short of the 1999’s net 42 [...]
Taxi ride-sharing app Maaxi launches to join a crowded cab rank April 14, 2015 Maaxi, the black cab ride-sharing app will be launched today, joining the line-up in an already-competitive London taxi market. But founder and chief executive Gabriel Campos, former boss of online gaming website Pokerstars, insists the new offering is not just another taxi scheme, but rather “door-to-door public transport”. Campos, whose main backer is Nat [...]
Maaxi road test: The ride-sharing app turning black cabs into public transport April 14, 2015 It's a balmy London day and I’m sitting comfortably in a black cab, but, for the purposes of demonstrating his new ride sharing app, Maaxi boss Gabriel Campos wants me to envisage a more typical travel scenario. “Just imagine you’re waiting at the bus stop in the freezing cold and the next one’s not coming [...]
Rocky markets give JP Morgan’s traders a boost April 14, 2015 VOLATILE markets gave JP Morgan’s profits a boost in the first quarter, with uncertainty giving its bond and currency traders more work, the giant investment bank said yesterday. The US institution’s profits came in at $5.9bn (£4bn) in the first quarter, up 12 per cent on the year. Its revenues rose four per cent to [...]
Unsecured Phones 4U creditors to get just 0.4pc back says PwC April 14, 2015 UNSECURED creditors to Phones 4U are to receive just 0.4 per cent of their money back after the mobile phone retailer collapsed into administration last year. Phones 4U called in administrators PwC in September 2014 after two of the UK’s largest mobile phone operators, Vodafone and EE, decided to withdraw their products from its stores. [...]
Inflation stays at record low of zero in March April 14, 2015 UK PRICES stayed flat in September, weighed down by cheap fuel and a lack of rebound in clothes prices after the January sales. Inflation – as measured by the annual change in the consumer price index (CPI) – was zero per cent in March, according to figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics [...]
Ex-Towergate boss Mark Hodges is named new British Gas manager April 14, 2015 INSURANCE veteran Mark Hodges has been appointed as managing director of British Gas, taking over from interim manager Ian Peters. In his new role, which he takes up from 1 June, Hodges will be paid a basic salary of £625,000, as well as an annual bonus of up to 100 per cent of his salary [...]
Eurozone gaining momentum as industrial production climbs April 14, 2015 INDUSTRIAL production in the Eurozone grew strongly in February, boosting the outlook for the economy. Production across the 19 euro users was 1.1 per cent higher than in January, according to figures released yesterday by the European Union’s data office Eurostat. “Eurozone industrial output growth in February today broke the one per cent month-on-month barrier [...]
