FTSE 100 live: London markets set to rise tracking Asian peers; global attention on Iranian president’s fate
Barratt chief executive Mark Clare to step down in July March 27, 2015 Barratt Developments has announced David Thomas, the group's finance director, will replace Mark Clare as chief executive from 1 July 2015. Mark Clare will step down after nine years with Barratt to focus on his non-executive career, the housebuilder said. The board decided to appoint David Thomas after a review that included external advisers. Barratt [...]
Premier League clubs agree £1bn for good causes if TV rights deal remains after Ofcom investigation March 26, 2015 The Premier League yesterday conditioned a £1bn grant for a variety of good causes, including grassroots football, on its new bumper £5bn TV rights deal not being overturned by a regulatory investigation. The body that oversees England’s 20 elite football clubs says its offer will not stand if an investigation by Ofcom, instigated after a [...]
Lean premiums ebb earnings at Lloyd’s of London March 26, 2015 Lloyd’s of London profits dipped slightly last year after gross premiums written at the iconic institution fell. Pre-tax profits fell by £44m to £3.2bn for the year ending 2014, after premiums fell to £25.3bn from £25.6bn in the previous year. Overall profitability measures at the group also weakened, rising to a combined ratio of 88.1 [...]
Cenkos: A British banking model makes a comeback March 26, 2015 A boardroom chat between an Oxbridge-educated dealermaker who grew up on a Liverpool council estate and the former head of a scrap metal firm from Scotland is a scene only imagineable in a City of London boardroom. But the meeting between Avril Palmer-Baunack, former head of Universal Salvage, and Jim Durkin, chief executive of Cenkos [...]
RBS to sell more of Citizens Bank March 26, 2015 RBS EXPECTS to sell an extra $400m (£269m) of shares in its US bank Citizens, yesterday hiking the size of the sale on strong demand. It had planned to sell a 24.7 per cent stake, worth $3.2bn. But in fact it is selling an additional 15 per cent, taking the total sale up to 39.7 per [...]
British Gas owner Centrica warns political uncertainty could hit investment March 26, 2015 British Gas owner Centrica yesterday warned that the run-up to the 7 May election would have a knock-on effect on investment in the UK energy sector. “The UK market faces potential pressure in both the run-up to the UK General Election and in the policy decisions taken by the next government,” Centrica said in its [...]
Alps air crash and Gulf allies attack on Yemen hit FTSE hard – London Report March 26, 2015 A WARNING from the Bank of England yesterday that financial markets were becoming more volatile and faced heightened risks from a lack of liquidity pulled the FTSE 100 down sharply. The FTSE 100 index was 105 points or 1.5 per cent lower at 6,886.9, as shares in airlines and tech stocks went into the red. [...]
Markets riled after Saudi Arabia launches airstrikes in Yemen March 26, 2015 Tensions in the Middle East stirred global markets today pushing nervous investors into safe-haven assets. Investors sought safety in gold, pushing bullion prices up to a two-and-a-half week high of $1,219.40 an ounce, on news that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies had launched air strikes in the Yemen city of Aden. Meanwhile, the dollar fell [...]
Hollywood’s highest paid star Leonardo DiCaprio earns three times average FTSE 100 boss (but no one can touch Martin Sorrell) March 26, 2015 Hollywood's highest paid stars earn up to three times more than the average FTSE 100 chief executive, proving that pursuing a career in the arts isn't always financially foolhardy if you can claw your way to the top. Research from trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Hollywood's biggest stars' salaries are once again reaching [...]
RBS increases the size of its Citizens sale March 26, 2015 RBS has increased the size of the tranche of US bank Citizens Financial it's planning to sell off, as investor demand showed promising signs. That means the UK bank is likely to raise between $3.2bn (£2.1bn) and $3.7bn from the sale of 135m Citizens shares, up from the original plan to sell off 132.25m. Under [...]