Tony Blair: Both UK parties are ‘peddling fantasies’ ahead of General Election November 25, 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn are both “peddling fantasies” ahead of the upcoming General Election, Tony Blair will say today. At an event in London, the former Prime Minister is set to criticise the country’s two main parties for offering a stark choice, aiming to win over voters “on the basis [...]
General Election: Boris Johnson promises to ‘forge a new Britain’ post-Brexit November 24, 2019 Boris Johnson has promised a “pent-up tidal wave of investment” post-Brexit at today’s Conservative manifesto launch in order to “forge a new Britain”. The Prime Minister launched the party’s manifesto today in the marginal constituency of Telford, which promised £23bn of increased public spending and tax cuts. However, Johnson’s speech itself focussed heavily on the [...]
Crossrail delay until 2021 may cost London £2bn November 21, 2019 The cost of delaying Crossrail until 2021 may rise to £2bn, according to Transport for London (TFL) bosses. TfL says the latest delay, which means the central part of the line won’t open until 2021, will cost £500m to £750m in lost fares. Read more: Crossrail will not run until 2021 and could cost an [...]
MUFG likely to deny Softbank loan over Wework bailout November 21, 2019 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan’s largest bank, is reportedly likely to withhold additional loans from Softbank to finance the conglomerate’s $9.5bn (£7.3bn) rescue package for struggling office space firm Wework. Softbank has asked for around ¥300bn (£2.1bn) additional loans for Japan’s three megabanks – MUFG, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group – [...]
Eco Atlantic shares fall after heavy crude discovery November 20, 2019 Shares in oil and gas explorer Eco Atlantic fell over seven per cent today after the company confirmed it was evaluating the commercial prospects of its major oil discovery off Guyana. Read more: Tullow Oil shares plummet as Ghana fields run into problems The figures Despite the shareholder reaction, Eco was bullish in its first [...]
HSBC investment banking boss to lose role in shake-up November 20, 2019 HSBC’s investment banking boss is reportedly set to be replaced as part of a shake-up under interim chief executive Noel Quinn. The lender’s head of global banking and markets Samir Assaf is to be moved to a non-executive role, according to the FT. Read more: Softbank in talks over KPMG’s private members club Assaf has [...]
Brexit campaigner Arron Banks has Twitter account hacked November 19, 2019 Self-described “bad boy of Brexit” Arron Banks has had his Twitter account hacked and his personal messages shared online. Banks – who co-founded Leave.Eu – also accused Twitter of not taking action or removing the “illegal data downloads” from the platform. Read more: Arron Banks apologises for Leave.Eu tweet about Angela Merkel that ‘went too [...]
Audio firm Focusrite records strong year of growth but warns on outlook November 19, 2019 Shares in audio equipment firm Focusrite dropped more than seven per cent today as it warned of a more subdued first quarter of trading following a bumper year of growth. The Aim-listed company posted revenue of £84.7m for the 12 months to the end of August, up almost 13 per cent on last year, while [...]
London software firm Kape snaps up US cybersecurity company for $95m November 19, 2019 London-based security software firm Kape Technologies today said it has acquired US online privacy company Private Internet Access (PIA) for $95.5m (£74m). Kape, which provides privacy-focused security software, said the merger will create a new global cyber company and almost double its profit. Read more: Labour suffers second cyber attack in 24 hours The Aim-listed [...]
Diploma raises dividend on the back of strong 2019 performance November 18, 2019 London-listed Diploma today announced that it would list its final dividend by 15 per cent, after posting strong double-digit growth in both earnings and revenue. Shares in the company rose nearly three and a half per cent during the morning’s trading. Read more: Industrial parts supplier Diploma eyes further acquisitions The figures The company, which [...]