Yoga for the many? Offering prices at a sliding scale relies on trust for profits February 22, 2023 Big pharma, hardly a stalwart of social equity, has been offering sliding scale payment for years and now purpose-driven businesses are trying to prove goodwill can pay the bills, writes Sascha O’Sullivan
Analysis: Has HSBC’s Noel Quinn done enough to ward off Ping An’s split campaign? February 21, 2023 HSBC’s CEO Noel Quinn said today that “international connectivity remains our greatest strength.” It was clear he was attempting to ward off shareholder Ping An’s ongoing campaign to spin out HSBC’s Asian business, which makes the majority of the bank’s profit. Quinn was speaking after the lender announced its results for the final quarter of [...]
Jeremy Hunt faces calls for March budget giveaways after UK borrows £30bn less than forecast February 21, 2023 The UK government spent less than it reaped in from taxpayers last month helping to push yearly borrowing £30bn lower than projected by forecasters, officials figures out today reveal. The difference between what the government generated in revenue and spent hit a positive £5.4bn, meaning the UK’s public finances were in surplus last month, according [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index dips below 8,000 point mark on interest rate hike fears February 21, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 closed below the 8,000 point today driven lower by a broad sell off fuelled by investors sweating over more interest rate rises from central banks. The capital’s premier index slipped 0.46 per cent to 7,977.74 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
Co-op front runner in race to buy Sainsbury’s Bank’s £650m loan book, according to reports February 21, 2023 The Co-operative Bank has tabled an offer for Sainsbury’s Bank’s £650m loan portfolio being, according to reports by Sky News. The Co-operative bank is among a number of parties understood to have tabled a bid for the supermarket bank’s loan book . An insider cited by Sky News said the Co-operative “appeared to be the [...]
Glimmers UK will avoid recession this year emerge as experts cheer return to growth in PMI February 21, 2023 Warnings that the UK is headed for a recession may have been misplaced after figures out today revealed private businesses returned to growth for the first time in half a year. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) composite flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for February hit 53 points, up from [...]
BHP profits dive £2.6bn as world’s largest miner falls victim to China’s pandemic restrictions February 21, 2023 BHP has suffered a heavy decline in profits, following pandemic restrictions in China and reduced demand for iron ore.
Brits flocked back to hotels in post Covid rebound as Holiday Inn owner’s revenue up 34 per cent February 21, 2023 Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group experienced a strong post-pandemic rebound, with revenues up 34 per cent in 2022 as consumer demand for hotels soared. The group, which has over 50 hotels across London, posted total revenues of $3.bn (£3.22bn) in the year ending December 2022, up 34 per cent from $2.90bn (£2.41bn) in the [...]
The Notebook: John O’Connell on corporation tax, rail subsidies, and dangerous books February 21, 2023 The Notebook is where interesting people say interesting things. Today, it’s John O’Connell, the chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, who riffs on corporation tax, 4.99 per cent council tax hikes and the books that have a little more spice than they used to The economy is doing slightly better than expected. Which, to be [...]
Let the payouts commence: As HSBC profits top £4.3bn, banking giant looks likely to appease Asian shareholders February 21, 2023 HSBC promised large payouts in 2023 to appease activist shareholder Ping An after comfortably beating market expectations in the final quarter of 2022. HSBC’s pretax profit for the final quarter nearly doubled to $5.2bn (4.3bn), beating market expectations of $5bn. This brought the bank’s total profit for 2022 to $17.5bn, seven per cent lower than [...]