Barclays: When one-off costs keep coming – Bottom Line March 3, 2015 Investors want to know the exact profit of the firms they own, but they also want the long-term outlook. That is why banks publish their statutory earnings, and their underlying numbers. The difference can be huge – hundreds of millions or even billions of pounds per year. But how far can investors rely on those [...]
Bets are off in Macau as graft crackdown hits March 3, 2015 A CRACKDOWN on corruption in China kept high-stakes gamblers away from Macau during the peak Lunar New Year holiday period, causing gaming revenue to almost halve. Gross gaming revenue in the world’s biggest gambling hub fell 49 per cent to 19.5bn patacas (£1.6bn) last month, Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau said. Macau last year [...]
FTSE dragged by Smith & Nephew – London Report March 3, 2015 BRITAIN’S blue chip share index gave up early gains for a third straight session yesterday and dropped back from record highs as prospects for a takeover of Smith & Nephew dimmed and its shares slumped. The FTSE 100 index was down 51.51 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 6,889.13 points at the close, not far [...]
Barclays sets aside another £750m for forex probes as profits jump and costs fall March 3, 2015 The figures Barclays' full-year adjusted pre-tax profits soared 12 per cent to £5.5bn, well ahead of the £5.3bn analysts expected for 2014. An additional £750m has been set aside for forex settlements, bringing the total to £1.25bn. Chief executive Anthony Jenkins said the bank expected to "make significant progress in this area" in 2015. A further £200m provision has also been made for [...]
Deutsche Bank’s client growth helps firm leap up adviser table March 2, 2015 DEUTSCHE Bank was the big winner in the first-quarter adviser rankings making gains in both the stockbroker and financial adviser categories in terms of client market capitalisation, according to figures from Adviser Rankings. The Frankfurt-based investment bank, which boasts clients such as British American Tobacco, Unilever and Greene King, stood out as the biggest climber [...]
Abu Dhabi fund in £1.6bn bid for London’s Maybourne Hotel Group March 1, 2015 Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund has put forward a £1.6bn bid for Maybourne Hotel Group, owner of London venues the Berkeley, the Connaught and Claridges. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is reported to have sent a letter declaring its interest in such a deal to Maybourne’s holding company, Coroin. The firm is understood to have [...]
Housing data shows lending and price rises – London Report March 1, 2015 HOUSING data due this week is likely to show increases in both prices and the number of mortgages being taken out. Bank of England mortgage approval figures, out today, are forecast to show that the number of housing loans rose modestly for a second month running in January after falling for five successive months to [...]
Mobile World Congress 2015: 12 things to look out for at MWC – The people and devices February 27, 2015 We may have been treated to a glimpse of the future, apparently filled with curved TVs and flexible phones, when the biggest electronics firms revealed their latest gadgets at CES, but there’s much more to come. Mobile World Congress is another one of the biggest events of the year in the tech calendar – and [...]
Boris Bikes see red: Santander is the next sponsor of Boris Johnson’s cycle hire scheme February 27, 2015 Say goodbye to the blue Boris bikes: Santander about to paint the town red as the new sponsor of London's cycle hire scheme. They're even renaming them "Santander Cycles". Under a seven-year sponsorship deal worth a cool £6.25m a year, Santander will pay £6.25m a year for the rights to naming the bikes, then add [...]
Standard Chartered’s boardroom bloodbath: Chief exec Peter Sands and chairman Sir John Peace are out February 26, 2015 Standard Chartered delighted investors with a boardroom revolution yesterday, announcing the exit of chief executive Peter Sands, chairman Sir John Peace and four other senior directors. The troubled emerging markets specialist had come under increasing pressure to change tack, after the share price fell by half over the last two years. Sands had previously [...]