Surge in trading revenues helps BNP Paribas beat expectations November 3, 2020 A surge in currency and commodity trading and lower than expected provisions for bad loans helped BNP Paribas beat earnings expectations for the third quarter. France’s biggest bank reported a 2.3 per cent drop in net income, which fell to €1.9bn (£1.7bn) for the three months to September – beating analysts expectations of €1.5bn. Overall [...]
Sadiq Khan blasted over ‘PR stunt’ as he moves City Hall to Royal Docks November 3, 2020 Sadiq Khan has been accused of carrying out a “PR stunt” after the mayor confirmed he will move City Hall to new headquarters in east London. The Greater London Authority (GLA) will leave its iconic base at More London near Tower Bridge in December next year and relocate to The Crystal building in the Royal [...]
Morgan Housel: “The biggest economic risk is what no-one is talking about” November 3, 2020 Morgan Housel’s highly anticipated new book, The Psychology of Money, opens with a quote from Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes: “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” It is a fitting introduction to a work from the Sherlock Holmes of financial writing. Like the famous fictional detective, Housel [...]
Wizz Air passenger numbers shrink two-thirds in October November 3, 2020 Wizz Air said that passenger numbers dropped 69 per cent in October as further coronavirus restrictions came into effect around the world. The low-budget carrier flew 1.15m passengers last month, down from 3.7m in the same period last year. And the decline could yet grow further in November, with international travel from England due to [...]
Engineer Senior to close Dutch plant as aviation demand shrinks November 3, 2020 Aerospace engineer Senior this morning announced that it would close its plant in the Netherlands as the coronavirus pandemic continued to crush the aviation industry. In a trading update this morning, the London-listed firm said that aerospace sales were down 45 per cent for the third quarter, and 36 per cent for the year to [...]
Close Brothers launches two new sustainable funds as demand grows November 3, 2020 Close Brothers Asset Management has launched two new sustainable funds amid growing demand from investors and clients. The asset manager has today launched the Close Sustainable Balanced Portfolio Fund and the Close Sustainable Bond Portfolio Fund, which will be actively managed. Close Brothers said the funds will look to generate “consistent long-term returns by screening [...]
Government extends coronavirus business loans ahead of Thursday’s England lockdown November 3, 2020 The government has extended applications for its coronavirus business support loan schemes ahead of England entering a second lockdown on Thursday.
Office space provider IWG revenue drops as it closes sites November 3, 2020 Office landlord IWG has posted a decline in revenue over the third quarter as it continued to close sites due to the “unprecedented storm” of the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 250 firm posted a 14.3 per cent drop in revenue to £583.3m in the three months to the end of September and warned support measures [...]
Ouch: Bayer takes €9bn impairment charge hit November 3, 2020 German life sciences giant Bayer this morning said that it would take a €9bn (£8.4bn) impairment charge in the third quarter. It also said that it would have to make additional payments as part of its settlement against claims that its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. As a result, the pharma firm reported a €9.4bn loss [...]
Primark owner profit slumps as pandemic batters sale November 3, 2020 Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) has posted a sharp decline in profit for the full year as store closures during the coronavirus lockdown decimated sales. The figures ABF posted revenue of £13.9bn in the year to 12 September, down 12 per cent on 2019. Statutory pre-tax profit slumped 42 per cent to £686m. Basic [...]
