Pension superfunds need help to avoid early retirement May 10, 2019 Nobody said it would be easy. For the pension industry’s new generation of consolidation vehicles, getting out of the starting blocks is turning into a protracted affair. The two to have shown their hands so far – the Pension Superfund and Clara-Pensions – have impressive boards, promises of funding and bulging deal pipelines, yet months [...]
‘Poorly designed’ 5G spectrum auctions risk harming consumers, mobile operators warn May 9, 2019 Multi-billion-pound auctions designed to flog 5G spectrum to mobile networks are badly-run and pose a risk to the rollout of the new technology, a new report has warned. Research carried out by the GSMA, the trade body for mobile operators, revealed auctions across the world can artificially inflate prices, meaning operators may have to limit [...]
UK’s biggest companies pull away as profits for rest of pack plunge May 8, 2019 Average profits at the UK’s 40 biggest companies rose by 11 per cent in the first quarter of the year while those outside the group saw a fall of 18 per cent, new analysis has shown, laying bare a stark division in the fortunes of British companies. Read more: 'Zombie firms' dragging down UK economy, [...]
Lloyds Banking Group: Q1 results analysis May 7, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. After a stunning share price performance, do these 'hit and miss' results justify optimism? Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) investors, in need of a silver lining after an underwhelming earnings season from UK lenders, only have to look back 24 hours earlier to the surprise gift handed to the bank [...]
Deutsche Bank scandal: Courts still chasing billions through tax scams and carbon credits May 7, 2019 Major banks enabled fraudsters to steal billions of pounds of public money through VAT scams, according to documents obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. A decade later, tax authorities are still chasing the money through the courts. Traders in London facilitated the so-called “carousel” fraud by organised crime gangs in 2009, which involved the trading [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland undone by Brexit May 6, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. These were a 'noisy' set of Q1 results from RBS, but probably look 'worse than the reality'. Back in the dividend-paying ranks and with shares up by as much as 25 per cent in 2019, The Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE:RBS) provided investors with a reality check as the state-backed lender [...]
Morrisons in City spotlight for first-quarter results May 6, 2019 Investors will be hoping Morrisons can replicate recently-improved trading results from its supermarket rivals later this week when it looks set to extend a long spell of like-for-like sales growth. Read more: Morrisons granted permission for Supreme Court appeal over data ruling Following a largely better-than-expected financial performance from both Sainsbury’s and Tesco in recent [...]
Making bank: HSBC profits soar past expectations but it warns of global economy risks May 3, 2019 HSBC hailed rocketing profits for its first quarter today as it also sounded a warning over risks to the global economy. Read more: Metro Bank's shares in meltdown after profits halved The figures Reported profit before tax rose 30.7 per cent to $6.2bn in the three months to the end of March, the bank revealed. [...]
Corbyn’s past just keeps tripping him up May 2, 2019 The charge sheet is grim. He defended a mural depicting hook-nosed Jewish bankers playing monopoly on the backs of the poor. He claimed Israel exerts “unbelievably high levels of influence” over “the upper echelons of parts of the media”. He presides over a party struggling to deal with complaints of antisemitism among its members and [...]
Activist investor Ed Bramson suffers heavy defeat in battle for seat on Barclays board May 2, 2019 Activist investor Ed Bramson has suffered a heavy defeat in his battle to win a seat on the Barclays board. Shareholders votes came in at 87.2 per cent against his election, as the US-based investor was only able to amass 12.8 per cent of the vote. Aside from his own 5.5 per cent stake, and factoring [...]