HSBC and RBS move into the pre-fab, build to rent housing market with support for Greenwich Creekside Wharf scheme December 8, 2016 HSBC and RBS have backed the UK’s first pre-fab build to rent scheme with a £60m loan facility. The banks will equally finance Essential Living’s 249-home Creekside Wharf scheme, based in Greenwich, with a four-year club deal. “Long-term demand for private rented housing is only going to increase in London and Essential Living’s position as [...]
Oil rises ahead of weekend meeting between Opec and non-Opec producers December 8, 2016 Oil markets were choppy today as traders got jittery ahead of a weekend meeting of Opec and non-Opec producers. Prices dipped in London afternoon trading after Russian news agency Tass reported the meeting, due to be held this Saturday in Vienna, could be postponed. However, a Russian energy ministry spokeswoman later said there were no [...]
The German steel giant in talks to collaborate with Tata Steel was hit by a “massive” cyber attack earlier this year December 8, 2016 The German steel giant in talks to merge with Tata Steel today said it was hit by a “massive” cyber attack earlier this year. ThyssenKrupp said technical trade secrets were stolen from the steel production and manufacturing plant design division, as well as other areas yet to be determined. The attackers were based in Southeast [...]
Sears sales fall as bosses warn they have no clue when department store group will return to profit December 8, 2016 US department store chain Sears reported its fifth consecutive quarterly loss today and warned investors it cannot guarantee when it will return to profitability. Total revenue at the retailer fell 14.3 per cent to $5bn (£4bn) in the third quarter, down from $5.8bn in the same period of last year. The drop was driven by [...]
TfL plans to save £800m as it sheds management layers and cuts jobs to deliver mayor’s spending ambitions December 8, 2016 Transport for London (TfL) has unveiled its five-year business plan to achieve the big investments Sadiq Khan has been announcing – and it involves trimming jobs to save £800m a year. The mayor has unveiled funding for a range of issues from £770m on London's cyclists to £200m on step-free access on the Underground, along with [...]
Mining companies must dig deeper to secure returns for spooked investors, according to Boston Consulting Group December 8, 2016 Falling shareholder returns in the mining sector have spooked investors and halved its market value since 2010, according to a report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In an analysis of 55 leading mining companies from 2005 to 2015, 10 of which are in Europe, the median total shareholder return was just five per cent. [...]
Byron Hamburgers to get new big cheese chairman in former Morrisons boss Dalton Philips and new chief exec December 7, 2016 There will be a new chair at the table at Byron Hamburgers this week, when former Wm Morrison boss Dalton Philips will be appointed chairman of the up-and-coming restaurant chain. The appointment could come as soon as tomorrow, Sky News reported. It will be Philips' biggest corporate role since leaving the supermarket at the beginning [...]
Glencore and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund snap up a 19.5 per cent stake in Russian state-controlled oil group Rosneft December 7, 2016 Glencore and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund have banded together to buy a 19.5 per cent stake in Russian state-controlled oil producer Rosneft. The FTSE 100-listed commodities group and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will pay Russia €10.5bn (£8.9bn) for a fifth of the world's largest listed oil producer, Russian state media has said. Russia will [...]
Tata and unions agree to rescue plan for the Port Talbot steel works December 7, 2016 Tata Steel has forged an agreement with the UK’s largest steel unions to rescue the Port Talbot steelworks and other sites, throwing a lifeline to 11,000 jobs provided that changes can be made to the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS). Senior union representatives met Tata Steel executives yesterday to hammer out the deal, which will [...]
The world is about to reach peak diamond with supply set to sparkle before entering a deficit after 2019 December 7, 2016 Forget peak oil, the world is about to reach peak diamond – and it's coming soon. Global rough diamond production will reach a pinnacle in three years before entering into a supply deficit by 2020, according to research from consulting group GlobalData. Rough diamond production is set to rise from 127m carats last year to 134.5m carats [...]
