Pearson holds full-year guidance as digital shift pays off July 26, 2019 Pearson has held its guidance for the full year as the firm’s ongoing shift from textbooks to digital formats drove robust trading in the first half. The publishing and education firm posted a two per cent decline in revenue to £1.83bn in the first six months of the year. Read more: Pearson sales slip as [...]
The new PM had better deliver on his promise to fix social care July 26, 2019 Talk about bold promises. On the steps on Downing Street, preparing to enter Number 10, the new Prime Minister pledged to “fix the crisis in social care once and for all with a clear plan we have prepared”. Similar to the National Health Service, social care is an area that MPs often struggle to address. [...]
Lloyds’ away win piles pressure on Skeoch July 26, 2019 A score draw? For Standard Life Aberdeen, that’s probably an overly generous classified check after the final whistle on its £109bn fund management dispute with Lloyds Banking Group. It’s hard not to look at the result as anything other than a come-from-behind victory for Britain’s biggest high street lender instead. The £140m cash sum it [...]
City Moves for 26 July – Who’s switching jobs at Investec, FSMB and Smiths Group? July 26, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Investec, FSMB and Smiths Group. Investec Investec Corporate and Investment Banking has announced the appointment of Ajeeth Narayan as global head of Investec Aviation Finance. Mike Francis will be executive lead of the Aviation Finance franchise, and Celia Britt will become chief operating officer. Ajeeth and Mike were two of the [...]
Tradeweb’s CEO on tech, China, and modernising bond markets July 24, 2019 While researching Lee Olesky, the co-founder and chief executive of the fixed-income market platform Tradeweb, I came across an article comparing him to Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos. Both started their companies in the nineties. Both set out to use the internet and ecommerce to disrupt their respective industries at a time when the idea of [...]
‘It’s a powerful, symbolic moment’: Chief executive Warren Deutrom on Ireland’s Lord’s Test match against England July 23, 2019 Wednesday is a significant day for Irish cricket: a third Test match in the country’s history, a first against England, at the Home of Cricket, on television and in the midst of a swell of interest in the sport, thanks to a recently concluded World Cup and an approaching Ashes series. For Warren Deutrom the [...]
Santander profits dive 18 per cent as UK mortgage margins squeezed July 23, 2019 Santander posted an 18 per cent plunge in second quarter profits due to one-off acquisition costs and rising pressure on mortgage margins in the UK. Read more: Santander ‘offered Andrea Orcel 52m euros’ in botched CEO plan The figures Profit before tax fell 18 per cent year on year to €1.39bn (£1.25bn) between April and [...]
Activist investor Elliott takes stake in Saga July 17, 2019 US activist investor Elliott has taken a stake in troubled tourism and insurance firm Saga in a move that could put pressure on management to boost returns. Shares in Saga were up 9.18 per cent this afternoon after it was revealed that Elliott Capital Advisors has disclosed a 5.14 per cent stake in the company. [...]
Reckitt Benckiser agrees $1.4bn settlement in US opioid case July 11, 2019 Reckitt Benckiser said today it has agreed to pay $1.4bn (£1.1bn) to settle a case in the US over its opioid addiction treatment. The London-listed company agreed the fine after being accused by the Justice Department of illegally increasing prescriptions for Suboxone Film. Read more: Reckitt Benckiser picks Pepsico executive for top job The firm [...]
Swiss Re suspends plans for £3bn float of UK insurer Reassure July 11, 2019 Swiss Re has put off its plans for a £3bn listing of its British life insurance arm Reassure in the wake of weak investor demand. The reinsurance giant blamed “heightened caution and weak underlying demand” from institutional investors for the postponement of its initial public offering (IPO). Trading in the shares, which were set to [...]