Lord Myners’ report into Royal Mail mustn’t get lost in the post November 5, 2014 It's the privatisation row that won’t go away. Royal Mail’s shares may have performed limply since their post-flotation peak earlier this year, but their initial surge makes it a safe bet that the sell-off will feature heavily during next year’s general election campaign. Two reports – from the National Audit Office and the Business [...]
Foreign exchange firm Moneycorp spurred on by 50 per cent rise in half-year profits November 4, 2014 Foreign exchange firm Moneycorp yesterday said strong growth in its retail division helped the group to a 50 per cent rise in half-year profits. The firm, which was acquired by private equity house Bridgepoint in August, added 31 new bureaux de change at airports during the six months ending 30 June, helping to boost revenue [...]
British man held in Hong Kong over murders November 1, 2014 A 29-year-old British man has been arrested in Hong Kong after the bodies of two women were found in an apartment building in the city. The bodies were found in the Wan Chai district of the city after a call from the man on Friday evening. One woman was found dead with neck injuries in [...]
US corporate results round up October 30, 2014 MASTERCARD MasterCard reported a better-than-expected 15.5 per cent jump in quarterly profit as efforts to expand its international business paid off, with more people willing to use cards instead of cash. MasterCard’s worldwide purchase volume, excluding the US, grew 12.8 per cent to $554bn (£345bn) on a local currency basis in the third quarter. The [...]
City Moves for 31 October 2014 | Who’s switching jobs October 30, 2014 Berwin Leighton Paisner The law firm has announced the appointment of Elizabeth Bradley as head of corporate tax. She trained at Berwin Leighton Paisner and was made a partner in 2008. Bradley advises on all areas of corporate taxation, with a particular specialism in real estate tax. EY The professional services firm has announced the [...]
Intertek leads the way as FTSE buoyed by data – London Report October 29, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index yesterday rose to its highest level in nearly three weeks on the expectation that the US Federal Reserve would signal that it was in no rush to raise interest rates. However, late last night – after the London close – investors elsewhere in the world were betting that a US rate [...]
Facebook has shown the way with its move to mobile – now everyone else must follow October 29, 2014 Facebook has made mobile pay. That much was made clear after the site revealed mobile adverts now account for 66 per cent of its advertising revenue. And when that mobile ad revenue amounts to $1.95bn, it pays to seek to understand how it got there – and quite possibly how to copy it. “Our strong [...]
Deutsche Bank share price stays flat despite €92m loss on legal costs October 29, 2014 Deutsche Bank has posted a net losses of €92m (£72.6m) for the three months to the end of September, with pre-tax income of €266m. The third-quarter loss stems from the legal costs of settling a number of investigations, and compares to a €51m profit during the same period last year. Alleged misconduct by [...]
BG Group hails arrival of new boss Helge Lund as profits plummet October 28, 2014 Oil firm BG Group has reported a 26 per cent decline in operating profit for the third quarter of 2014, going from $1.8bn (£1.1bn) to $1.3bn. The company attributed this decrease to significant profit reductions in Kazakhstan as a result of revenue falls, and in the UK as a result of the higher cost of [...]
Disappointing results for cinema chain AMC after weak summer October 28, 2014 Cinema giant AMC posted disappointing third-quarter results last night, following a slow summer for the film and entertainment industry in America. The chain revealed that net income dropped 78 per cent in the latter part of this year, from $33.9m (£21m) in the three months ending 30 September 2013 to just $7.4m for the same [...]