JP Morgan’s investment bank fees fall October 13, 2011 JP MORGAN saw its earnings dragged down by a dismal quarter for its investment bank, its results revealed yesterday. The numbers were flattered by a $1.9bn accounting gain, but stripping out the technical change, revenues were down versus the same quarter last year by 16.4 per cent to $4.47bn. Fees for advisory work in the [...]
Fitch cuts RBS and Lloyds October 13, 2011 BANKS worldwide came under fire from a zealous round of downgrades by credit rating agency Fitch yesterday, knocking share prices for the UK’s biggest lenders. Fitch cut the long-term default rating of both RBS and Lloyds by one notch to A and put Barclays on a negative outlook to reflect the reduced chance of another [...]
Coalition delays pension age rise at cost of £1bn October 13, 2011 THE GOVERNMENT will delay its planned rise in the state pension age, it announced yesterday, at a cost of more than £1bn to the Treasury. The hike in the state pension age to 66, for both men and women, will be put back six months to October 2020. The new bill still proposes that the [...]
Assets fall at Hargreaves and Ashmore October 13, 2011 EMERGING markets-focused asset manager Ashmore’s shares tumbled as much as seven cent yesterday as it revealed it has lost more than 10 per cent of its assets in the quarter to September. But fellow asset manager Hargreaves Lansdown’s shares rose two per cent as it attracted new clients despite a drop in overall assets. Analysts [...]
Taxman offers amnesty to 6,000 Swiss account holders at HSBC October 13, 2011 THE GOVERNMENT is offering up to 6,000 holders of Swiss bank accounts at HSBC a last chance to come clean with the taxman or face possible investigation that could involve a criminal probe. After being contacted by the HMRC, the account-holders will have 30 days to come forward. “Those making a disclosure will pay a [...]
DSK charges in France dropped October 13, 2011 FRENCH public prosecutors dropped an investigation yesterday into a writer’s accusation of attempted rape against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn due to lack of evidence. The Paris public prosecutor’s office said evidence existed suggesting sexual assault but a prosecution on that lesser charge was not possible under the statute of limitations. He was accused by [...]
Gatwick cuts its traffic estimates due to the economic uncertainty October 13, 2011 GATWICK airport said its predicted rate of long-term growth in passenger traffic would be lower than previously expected because of tough economic conditions and an uncertain outlook. Gatwick yesterday started a three-month public consultation on its draft master plan for the airport, looking ahead to 2020. The report also looks at ways of making the [...]
LUKE JOHNSON JOINS METRO BANK BOARD October 13, 2011 METRO Bank has hired Luke Johnson as a non-executive director. Johnson, a private equity investor, currently holds board seats at the Giraffe restaurant group and Patisserie Valerie. Metro Bank opened its first branch last year, and is hoping to crack into the UK retail banking market.
Google sees revenue jump as clicks soar October 13, 2011 GOOGLE delivered another triumphant set of quarterly results yesterday that showed revenues soared to almost $10bn (£6.4bn) as more than 40m people joined its new Google+ social network. Gross revenue from Google’s search advertising reached $9.7bn in the three months to the end of September, a third higher than in the same quarter of 2010. [...]
Joe Lewis pulls takeover offer for troubled M&B October 13, 2011 MAVERICK investor Joe Lewis withdrew his offer for pub chain Mitchells & Butlers yesterday, blaming poor trading and higher risk in the business. Lewis’s investment vehicle Piedmont, M&B’s biggest investor, said it had dropped the informal 230p-per-share bid to buy the company at below its market value. “After careful consideration, Piedmont has decided not to [...]
