UK posts mighty trade deficit in month of EU referendum August 9, 2016 The UK trade deficit ballooned to a huge £5.1bn in June, far ahead of expectations and raising more questions about how the UK's exporters and importers will fare after the referendum. The figures, released this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also showed imports reached their highest ever level in a single month [...]
City Moves for 9 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 9, 2016 Metamako Metamako, a specialist in deterministic network devices for the world’s financial institutions, has appointed Kevin Covington as CEO. With a long career in the fintech industry, Kevin has many years’ experience of growing and developing financial technology companies. He was one of the creators of the concept of co-location. In his previous position as [...]
Is May set to abandon Osborne’s China dream? August 8, 2016 It's almost a month since David Cameron left office. With his entire staff to the right of him and his family to the left, the outgoing PM delivered his final address to the nation in a typically calm and confident fashion. As he did so, the famous door behind him hid scenes of frantic activity. [...]
What businesses can expect from Theresa May’s self-consciously pragmatic Conservatism August 4, 2016 From what retailers sold in their shops to their advertising, David Cameron seemed to have a view on everything businesses did. While they might not have approved of it all, businesses understood what he was thinking. Not so with Theresa May. May intervenes in public debate sporadically, on bigger issues and with more focus. She [...]
Office Depot to close stores and cut costs after its Staples tie-up failure August 3, 2016 US stationery supplier Office Depot is planning to close a further 300 stores over the next three years to help cut costs by $250m (£187m). The announcement came as the company posted profit of $210m, or 38 cents a share for its second quarter, from a loss of $58m in the same period a year ago. [...]
Construction sector leader calls on government to do more to amid spiralling material prices August 1, 2016 The construction sector is being battered by high material prices, a weak pound, private sector uncertainty and a lack of public housing investment, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) said today. In the week that sees two of the largest building suppliers release their results, the FMB said that two-thirds of bosses were anticipating further rises in material costs [...]
Petrofac auditors find “no evidence” to support bribery allegations August 1, 2016 Petrofac said today that an independent investigation had found no evidence it was involved in a global scandal over bribery and corruption on the oil industry. The FTSE 250-listed firm called in lawyers and accountants after leaked documents suggested Monaco-based Unaoil paid bribes on behalf of oil companies including Petrofac to win contracts. "The independent investigation has thoroughly investigated [...]
Exxon Mobil profits plummet as oil prices keep on sliding July 29, 2016 Exxon Mobil had a difficult first half, with earnings sliding 62 per cent, results posted today showed. The figures Earnings fell 62 per cent to $3.5bn in its first half – and skidded 59 per cent to $1.7bn in the second quarter alone. That pushed earnings per share down 59 per cent in the second quarter, to $0.41. Meanwhile, upstream earnings fell to $294m, down $1.7bn from the [...]
HS2 should be abandoned, says The TaxPayers’ Alliance July 29, 2016 HS2 is an expensive vanity project that must be scrapped, according to think tank The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA). The think tank said that the project costs are rising, likely to hit £90bn, with a timely delivery unlikely. Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "HS2 is a wasteful vanity project which is unlikely [...]
Ford share price swerves after it misses profit expectations and warns over full year earnings and the impact of Brexit July 28, 2016 Ford shares have dipped ahead of the open after the US car manufacturer reported its second quarter profit missed expectations. The poor performance was blamed on stalling markets in the US and China. Ford posted profit of $1.97bn, or $0.49 per diluted share, versus $2.16bn or $0.54 per share a year ago. Its earnings – excluding one-off items – came in [...]