Bank suspends £200bn stimulus package February 4, 2010 The Bank of England has decided against further quantitative easing (QE) to stimulate growth in the UK economy and froze interest rates at 0.5 per cent. Under QE the bank has pumped £200bn of new money into the economy – by buying assets such as government bonds to boost lending by banks. The bank’s monetary [...]
Shell profits plunge by 75 per cent February 4, 2010 ROYAL Dutch Shell posted a 75 percent fall in fourth-quarter profits to $1.18bn (£72m) as falling output and depressed refining and natural gas businesses took their toll. Oil prices recovered in the quarter but gas prices were much lower than in the same period a year earlier, while refining margins collapsed to their lowest level [...]
British Gas slashes bills by 7 per cent February 4, 2010 BRITISH Gas has cut average gas bills by 7 per cent after a dip in wholesale prices. Customers will save an average £55 a year as a result of the move, according to the company. Energy companies have been under fire for not passing on wholesale reductions to customers. Managing director Phil Bentley said: “At [...]
Santander sees UK profits surge February 3, 2010 THE UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 30 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
Santander see UK profits surge February 3, 2010 THE UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 55 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
Yell revenues stabilise February 3, 2010 PUBLISHING group Yell saw signs of stability in the third quarter as the rate of revenue decline slowed. The FTSE 250-group reported a 13 per cent drop in revenue at constant currency rates for the three months to December – beating the 16 per cent guidance previously given. Revenue for the first nine months of [...]
Glaxo profits up – but cuts looming February 3, 2010 DRUGS giant GlaxoSmithKline has reported a 12 per cent rise in annual profit – but warned that cost-cutting measures would be imposed. Pre-tax profits for 2009 were £8.73bn ($13.81bn) up from £7.78bn in 2008. A £500m programme of cuts will be completed by 2012. Glaxo said its profits had been enhanced by sales of flu [...]
Power shortages loom for UK February 3, 2010 BUSINESSES and homes across the UK could face power shortages in the years ahead, energy regulator Ofgem has warned. The regulator also warns that a proportion of consumers may not be able to afford the higher energy prices they will have to face. Ofgem says there is “reasonable doubt” about whether the UK’s energy market [...]
Standard Life beats sales forecasts February 3, 2010 INSURER Standard Life kicked off the sector’s reporting season with forecast-beating sales for 2009 following a pick-up in market conditions in the second half of the year. The UK’s fifth biggest insurer by market value reported total life and pensions sales of £14.7bn on a present value of new business premiums basis – down by [...]
First-time buyers benefit from falling deposits February 2, 2010 FIRST time buyers have been given a boost after new figures showed that the availability of mortgages is on the rise. The number of deals is up 20 per cent compared to the start of the year, according to financial information service Moneyfacts. The increased has been driven by the thawing of the mortgage market [...]
