Greece urges creditors to compromise on bailout April 9, 2015 Greece will strike a deal on its bailout loan before the end of this month even if it invokes a political backlash, but its Eurozone creditors must be prepared to compromise, finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said yesterday. Varoufakis’ statement came as Eurozone partners set Greece a deadline of six working days to improve proposed economic [...]
A recipe to cook your own golden goose – Editor’s Letter April 9, 2015 Churchill, as ever, said it best: “For a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” Still we all find ourselves sometimes persisting too long in fruitless tasks. Self-sabotaging appeals to soak the rich – seen again in this week’s [...]
General Election 2015: Mixed message as polls split on who leads race April 9, 2015 Three polls put Labour on course for victory in the General Election last night, heaping pressure on a Tory campaign that is facing increasing criticism for its negativity. The surveys, conducted by the firms Panelbase, TNS, and Survation, gave Labour a lead ranging between three and six per cent. However polls by YouGov and Comres [...]
S&P puts Shell’s credit rating on negative watch April 9, 2015 RATINGS agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has placed its credit ratings on Royal Dutch Shell on negative watch, after the company announced its £47bn offer for British gas producer BG Group. S&P said yesterday that the increase in debt caused by paying a cash consideration of about $20bn (£14m) would likely result in credit measures [...]
Chinese and US tie together for circus bid April 9, 2015 Cirque du Soleil, the iconic live entertainment firm, could be bought by US buyout giant TPG, now that Chinese conglomerate Fosun International is joining its bid, according to SkyNews. CVC Capital Partners and Providence Equity Partners have rival bids for the firm.
HSBC pledges to fight criminal probe in France April 9, 2015 FRENCH magistrates yesterday announced a criminal investigation into HSBC’s Swiss Private Bank, reviving the row which embarrassed bosses at the UK-based global giant. But HSBC said it would appeal against the decision. The authorities set bail for the bank at €1bn (£724m), a level which the lender described as “unwarranted and excessive”. The investigation relates [...]
Wage increases gather pace as recruiters battle skills shortage April 9, 2015 Salaries for new staff rose at their fastest pace in six month in March, recruiters said today, as diving unemployment combined with strong growth to push up pay. Finance workers and engineers are in the highest demand, closely followed by executive staff. The study from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG found that almost [...]
Resurrected share floats drive equity capital markets into 2015 April 9, 2015 FOUR of the 10 biggest stock market flotations in Europe so far this year were deals which failed to get off the ground last year, in a remarkable revival of their fortunes. A study out today from PwC shows that London floats made up only 28 per cent of all initial public offerings (IPOs) in Europe [...]
Netflix Marvels at $200m cost of mini-series April 9, 2015 NETFLIX and Disney have spent $200m (£136m) on their four upcoming TV shows and one miniseries, loosely known as the Marvel Defenders project. One of them is Daredevil (above), about blind mild-mannered lawyer Matt Murdock who fights crime in New York by night. It is the first Marvel programme on Netflix and will premiere online [...]
Shares rocket as Gatwick oil find boosts UK firms April 9, 2015 Shares in UK oil firms exploded yesterday, after UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) announced a discovery of 158m barrels of oil per square mile at the Horse Hill well, near Gatwick airport. The well covers 55 square miles of the Weald Basin in south east England. However, UKOG admitted that potentially only a fraction [...]
