Why Asos shares have shrugged off warehouse fire damage news June 23, 2014 Despite slumping by around three per cent in early trading, Asos shares have seen a recovery after Friday's warehouse fire. Traders have been waiting until today to respond to a fire at the company's Barnsley distribution centre, where around 70 per cent of the company's total stock is held. South Yorkshire Police are treating the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 23 June 2014 June 23, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES FireChat app popular in Iraq A new chat app designed for use on planes and trains is soaring in popularity in Iraq, as users embrace a “private internet” where they can message each other without fear of the government shutting down access to the web. Created on an island in San Francisco Bay, [...]
Barclays voice recognition to kill telephone banking passwords June 23, 2014 Barclays is introducing voice recognition for users of its telephone banking service in a move that could abolish passwords. The bank is using a system of voice biometrics, already used by customers in its high net worth banking arm, which it will roll out to 12m retail customers next year. The system works by storing [...]
Barclays set for Premier League sponsorship challenge June 23, 2014 The English Premier League is set to open up its sponsorship to bidders for the first time in 12 years, putting Barclays at risk of losing branding rights when its existing sponsorship ends at the close of the 2015-2016 season. Barclays currently pays £40m a year for the sponsorship, but Premier League clubs have voted [...]
Euro rate hike unlikely for at least two years June 23, 2014 AUSTRIAN central bank chief Ewald Nowotny said this weekend that the European Central Bank (ECB) is unlikely to raise interest rates until at least 2016, as the policy of major central banks diverges. Nowotny’s comments follow the ECB’s easing, which reduced the Eurozone deposit rate to a negative level for the first time. Analysts have [...]
Markit’s float to raise $1.2bn June 18, 2014 MARKIT, the UK financial data provider, is set to raise $1.18bn (£694m) in New York today, following the pricing of its shares at $24, the mid-point, last night. Most of the funds raised will go to the group of investment banks, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, which [...]
World Gold Council summit set to reform shaky gold fix process June 18, 2014 Gold industry experts will meet next month to discuss reforms to the gold fix, after a series of setbacks for London’s historical price-setting organisation. The World Gold Council announced the sector’s summit yesterday, with a first meeting scheduled for 7 July. The group said that bullion banks, refiners, central banks, exchange-traded fund and miners would [...]
ABN Amro hikes pay to dodge EU’s cap on bankers’ bonuses June 18, 2014 THE TOP 100 bosses at Dutch bank ABN Amro would receive a 20 per cent pay hike to get around Europe’s bonus rules, the lender said yesterday. New EU rules will cap bonuses at 100 per cent of salary, or 200 per cent if shareholders agree. And ABN Amro is preparing to but bonuses to as little [...]
Shell Midstream files for IPO in bid to buy stakes in US pipelines June 18, 2014 Shell Midstream Partners, a master limited partnership (MLP) formed by Royal Dutch Shell, yesterday filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in a bid to raise up to $750m (£443m). Shell Midstream, based in Houston, Texas, said in its IPO prospectus that it planned to use proceeds from the offering to acquire stakes in some [...]
UK inflation rate fell to lowest level in five years last month June 17, 2014 Inflation fell to its lowest level in five years this May, coming in at just 1.5 per cent, despite the continued strength of the economic recovery. A 3.2 per cent drop in air fares between April and May, driven by a spike around the Easter school holidays, helped to trim CPI to its slowest growth [...]