Rude awakening for Greek hopes as ECB refuses to accept debt as funding collateral February 4, 2015 The new Greek government was left with a bloody nose last night after Eurozone central bankers abruptly scrapped their acceptance of the ailing Mediterranean country’s debt as collateral for funding. Syriza – Greece’s radical left-wing anti-austerity party – has spent this week sending its leaders on a charm offensive across Europe, confidently expecting to negotiate a [...]
Viiv Healthcare IPO: Banks onboard for GlaxoSmithKline’s £17bn pharma float February 4, 2015 Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has hired banks to analyse the pros and cons of a float of its HIV medicines business next year, in what would be the one of the UK’s biggest initial public offerings of the last decade. Chief executive Sir Andrew Witty said banks, believed to be Citi, Goldman Sachs and Morgan [...]
Parties face hard scrutiny over deficit-cutting plans February 4, 2015 VOTERS face a stark choice on public finances at the general election, the Institute of Fiscal Studies showed yesterday, as its analysts revealed the scale of the difference in spending and debt plans between the two main parties. The Conservative and Labour parties seized on contrasting figures to claim their plans would be best for [...]
New issues market gets off to a slow start – Editor’s Letter February 4, 2015 After a cracking 2014 in London’s new issues market, this year was always going to be tricky, with expectations higher than usual. At the beginning of the year many bankers envisaged a pretty strong list of companies coming to the market in the early part of the year before petering out around May, because of [...]
Bus strikes for next 24 hours February 4, 2015 TUBE and train carriages will be more crammed than usual this morning as many London bus drivers are on strike over pay and conditions today. The strike, involving Unite bus drivers in the dispute, began at 4am and will go until 4am tomorrow. Transport for London (TfL) said customers with a Bus and Tram Pass [...]
Under Armour snaps up apps February 4, 2015 SPORTS clothing group Under Armour yesterday acquired two mobile apps for $560m (£368.8m) as it moves to expand into digital fitness accessories and wearables. Popular fitness and food tracking app MyFitnessPal and Danish personal trainer app Endomondo were both bought for $475m and $85m respectively. Chief executive Kevin Plank called the apps “ideal partners”.
City Airport expansion cleared for take-off February 4, 2015 London City Airport has been given the go-ahead for a £200m expansion by Newham Council. Airport chief executive Declan Collier yesterday welcomed the decision as “great result for the capital”. Under the plans, the airport will triple in size by 2023.
Hedge funds hit back at Labour over tax row after Ed Miliband queries stamp duty avoidance February 4, 2015 Hedge funds have hit back at Labour’s proposals to impose a new tax on them, after Ed Miliband called for a change in current stamp duty arrangements. During Prime Minster’s questions yesterday, Miliband repeatedly asked Prime Minister David Cameron about “hedge funds avoiding stamp duty on their share transactions”, prompting an angry response from the [...]
Starbucks bean count rises as it wakes up and smells UK tax bill February 4, 2015 Starbucks’ frappucinos, muffins, and bucket-sized mugs of coffee helped the Seattle-based chain deliver a profit in the UK for the first time in 17 years. Starbucks has come under intense criticism for paying minimal corporation tax in the UK and has been accused of using cross-border accounting practices to lower its UK tax bill – [...]
All the space in the world to take a photo February 4, 2015 FANCY seeing the only high-quality picture of Neil Armstrong on the Moon or the first space selfie? A rare private group of NASA prints are on display at Mallett Antiques before going under the hammer this month at Bloomsbury Auctions
