Vladimir Putin announces government overhaul and names new prime minister January 15, 2020 Russia’s prime minister and the entire government have resigned from their posts after President Vladimir Putin said he will hold a referendum on sweeping constitutional changes which could allow him to keep power when his term ends in 2024. The resigning prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said he wanted to give Putin room to make “all [...]
US and China sign long-awaited ‘phase one’ trade deal January 15, 2020 US President Donald Trump and Chinese vice premier Liu He have signed a “phase one” trade deal in Washington that puts in place a fragile peace in the long-running tariff war between the world’s two biggest economies. Trump and Liu put pen to paper in a packed East Room at the White House after months [...]
Why a Bank of England interest rate cut looks increasingly likely January 15, 2020 Just a week ago, investors rated the chances that the Bank of England would cut interest rates at about five per cent. Today, they think there is a 60 per cent chance that the main rate will be lowered from 0.75 per cent, according to CME Group’s tool which analyses futures prices. So what has [...]
Litigation costs dent Goldman Sachs’s fourth-quarter profit January 15, 2020 Goldman Sachs suffered a fall in profit in the final quarter of the year as high litigation provisions and investment banking weakness dented the Wall Street giant’s bottom line. Net earnings fell 26 per cent year on year to $1.72bn. The fall in profit took earnings per share to $4.69 in the fourth quarter from [...]
Flybe saved from brink of collapse by government deal January 14, 2020 Flybe has staved off collapse after shareholders and the government struck a controversial deal that will review the regional airline’s air passenger duty contributions. Major shareholders, including Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Group, pledged to inject “additional funding” to keep the airline running. They said this would come “alongside government initiatives”. The deal came a day [...]
Firm at centre of mini-bond scandal ‘overstated’ value of holdings January 14, 2020 A firm at the centre of the London Capital & Finance (LCF) scandal was found to have “overvalued” a major asset on its balance sheet by a court today, meaning it was unlikely it could have paid back the money it owed LCF. London Oil & Gas was the biggest recipient of cash from LCF, [...]
Citigroup profit jumps 15 per cent in strong end to year January 14, 2020 Profit at Wall Street giant Citigroup beat expectations to post a 15 per cent rise in fourth-quarter profit, with solid growth in both its consumer and institutional banking arms. Citigroup shares had risen 2.9 per cent two hours into trading to $82.93 as the lender continued the strong start to US earnings season, which had [...]
JPMorgan Chase kicks off US earnings season with record annual profit January 14, 2020 JPMorgan Chase brought in a record annual profit in 2019, its fourth-quarter results showed today, outstripping analysts’ expectations as it kicked off the US earnings season in fine style. The US’s biggest bank was boosted by a marked increase in bond trading as the global economy was shaken by the trade war between Washington and [...]
US markets hit fresh record high on trade deal optimism January 13, 2020 US stock markets hit fresh all-time highs today as investors optimistically await the signing of “phase one” of the US-China trade deal. Indices were also boosted by expectations of a pick-up in profits for US companies as fourth-quarter earnings season kicks off. Read more: Donald Trump: US to suspend planned tariffs after reaching China trade [...]
Travis Perkins sells plumbing arm for £46m January 13, 2020 British builders’ merchant Travis Perkins has sold its plumbing and heating business to distribution group Newbury Investments for £46m. The sale comes just four months after Travis Perkins halted the sale of the unit, called Primaflow, blaming “unprecedented uncertainty”. Read more: Travis Perkins halts sale of plumbing unit amid uncertainty The deal, which the building [...]
