Linklaters’ profits rise to £557.3m July 7, 2014 Law firm Linklaters saw its pre-tax profits increase in the latest financial year, up by 6.8 per cent to £557.3m. The group’s income rose to £1.255bn in the year to the end of April, a rise of five per cent on last year’s figures, which were particularly strong, following the Magic Circle firm’s assistance of [...]
Freshfields announces six per cent boost in firm’s earnings July 7, 2014 FRESHFIELDS Bruckhaus Deringer boosted its profits in the latest financial year, the law firm revealed today. Profits per equity partner, a common barometer of a law firm’s financial performance, increased by six per cent to £1.48m in Freshfields’ 2013-14 financial year. Total revenue for the Magic Circle business also increased by one per cent to [...]
Booming factories beginning to reach the limits of their capacity July 7, 2014 BULLISH manufacturers are increasingly running up to the limits of their capacity, according to a new survey today, despite the sector’s output being depressed in comparison to the pre-crisis period. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today said that capacity utilisation in UK industry was at its highest on record, according to its quarterly update. [...]
Shock drop in output recorded for Germany’s industrial firms July 7, 2014 GERMANY’S industrial output took a tumble in May, according to statistics released yesterday, showing the biggest month-on-month drop in more than a year and a half. Between April and May, production dipped by 1.8 per cent, with year-on-year growth of just 1.3 per cent, the slowest in 2014 for the Eurozone’s powerhouse economy. “Today’s data [...]
Euro investors more confident as international crisis fears fade July 7, 2014 THE OUTLOOK of European investors improved slightly in July, against expectations and reversing the trend of the previous two months, according to the Sentix economic index. The measure came in at 10.1 in July, up from June’s 8.5, but still lower than scores recorded earlier in the year. The index still stands above zero, signalling [...]
Hasta la vista for Let’s Gowex tech firm brought down by Gotham City July 7, 2014 A Spanish firm accused by analysts of dramatically manipulating its revenues has now filed for insolvency, as its chief executive admitted that its accounts were not accurate. Let’s Gowex, a business with ambitions to set up “smart cities” with universal wireless internet, conceded yesterday that the last four years of its financial accounts “do not [...]
Finance becomes a friend in France after volte face at the top July 7, 2014 FINANCE is a friend to the French government, according to Michel Sapin, the country’s finance minister, who was speaking at an economics conference yesterday. The comments play on a remark made two years ago, when the socialist party candidate, Francois Hollande, who is now President of France, said that his real opponent and adversary in [...]
Firms look to political problems as economic uncertainty fades July 7, 2014 FEWER than half of company finance bosses believe that they are still facing an above-average level of economic uncertainty, according to a major survey this morning. Deloitte’s latest barometer of chief financial officer (CFO) opinion shows that only 49 per cent are reporting above-average or high financial and economic uncertainty, down from 95 per cent [...]
Dividend hike expected for FTSE 350 firms July 7, 2014 DIVIDENDS from FTSE 350 firms are projected to climb by £74.5bn this year, up 4.7 per cent, with an even larger increase expected for the year afterwards. A new forecast by Markit suggests that after a significant rise this year, dividends among the UK’s large listed firms will surge by nine per cent in the [...]
Architects in call for green belt reform to tackle housing crisis July 1, 2014 REFORMS to the green belt system are likely to be required to accommodate the extra houses the UK must build each year, according to new research this morning. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) joined a growing chorus of voices calling for reform to the green belt system, suggesting greenfield land could be reclassified [...]