September mortgage approvals well behind 2015 levels but edge up on August numbers October 31, 2016 UK mortgage approvals flopped nearly 10 per cent in September compared to last year, the Bank of England reported this morning. Although the figures did bounce back from the 19-month low recorded in August, the 62,932 approvals were well behind the 69,619 recorded in September 2015. Read more: Time to remortgage? Fixed rates are low, but watch out [...]
Investors want to better understand why executives are paid what they are paid October 31, 2016 An influential investment management trade body has written to the bosses of Britain's largest companies to urge "greater simplicity and flexibility of pay structures". The Investment Association (IA), which represents companies that manage over £5.7 trillion of assets, wrote to the chief executives of the FTSE 350 to set out what shareholders want from company boards [...]
Shares in Centamin are on the up as cash coffers are filled October 31, 2016 Gold miner Centamin's shares nosed-up by one per cent in morning trading on the news that production levels are on track to be at the top end of expectations. The figures Third quarter revenues increased to $201m (£165m) from $119m in the same period the year before. They were up from $180m generated in the second quarter. Earnings climbed [...]
Companies need to tell us the real numbers when it comes to pension deficits, say experts October 31, 2016 Some of Britain's high profile corporate failures could have been avoided if details of their pension scheme deficits had been made clearer according to experts. In a wide-ranging review of the FTSE 350, covenant experts, Lincoln Pensions, called for a greater level of transparency in company’s annual reports. "We believe that many of the issues [...]
Network Rail may have to drawdown on mammoth government funding facility October 30, 2016 After shelling out millions in compensation to Britain's train companies, Network Rail is facing the embarrassing prospect of asking for a hand out from the government. Last year, Network Rail drew down £7.5bn of borrowing from a department of transport (DfT) facility, more than doubling the amount it owes Chris Grayling's department, from £6.4bn to £14bn. [...]
House of Fraser bond prices are under pressure as distressed funds circle October 30, 2016 The value of publicly traded debt issued by department store House of Fraser has fallen dramatically over the last week prompting fears of financial problems. Last year, the company issued £175m of bonds on the Luxembourg stock exchange as part of a £300m financial restructuring – the bonds mature in 2020. And the value of the bonds [...]
Latest filings by British arm of McDonald’s reveals level of royalty payments to Luxembourg entity October 30, 2016 The British operations of burger giant McDonald's paid £123m for franchise rights last year which are part of a structure that is being investigated by European authorities. The company, whose UK operations are captured in a Luxembourg based company, McD Europe Franchising, reported a profit of $541m for the year to December 2015, almost identical to the $540m it [...]
Cuadrilla glosses over loss-making year and is optimistic for the future October 30, 2016 Shale gas explorer Cuadrilla burnt through $10m (£8m) of cash last year and was forced to go cap in hand to its shareholders after revenues almost completely dried up. Britain's largest fracking company reported a bottom-line loss of $18m, worse than the $11m reported in the previous year. Shareholders stumped up $4m of cash in order to [...]
