Argentina turns up the heat on HSBC with demand for £2.3bn of offshore cash March 9, 2015 Argentina is demanding that HSBC repatriate £2.3bn of its clients' money. The bank stands accused of moving the money offshore for tax advantages. The head of Argentina's tax authority, Ricardo Echegaray, claimed HSBC's actions threatened the stability of the Latin American state. Speaking at the Argentine embassy, Echegaray told a host of journalists "HSBC built [...]
Tesco loses Harris + Hoole and Giraffe chief Michael Holmes amid Dave Lewis restructure March 9, 2015 Tesco has lost another senior executive, after the man in charge of its Harris + Hoole coffee shops and restaurant chain Giraffe stepped down. Chief executive of new food experiences Michael Holmes, the man behind Tesco’s strategy to offer dining experiences in-store in a bid to pull in customers, has fallen on the wrong side [...]
Lloyds share price falls as government sells off one per cent stake March 9, 2015 Shares in Lloyds Banking Group opened at 80.9p this morning, 0.6 per cent lower, after the government announced it had sold off another one per cent stake in the bank, worth £500m. The sale means the stake owned by UK Financial Investments, the government body formed to manage part-nationalised banks, is now a relatively modest [...]
Bullish results for Martin Sorrell’s WPP: World’s largest advertising group reports 12 per cent jump in profits March 9, 2015 2015 has started well for the world’s largest advertising group and its chief Martin Sorrell. The figures WPP has announced a 12 per cent boost in profit before tax during 2014: it rose to £1.5bn, with sales of £11.5bn, five per cent higher than in 2013. The company also started January well, with like-for-like sales rising an [...]
Exclusive: Prudential to hire ex FCA regulator Clive Adamson March 9, 2015 Clive Adamson, who quit the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as director of supervision ahead of a critical report into its conduct before Christmas, is joining the Prudential, two sources have told City A.M. Adamson is understood to be joining Prudential’s UK business, possibly in a non-executive capacity. Although Adamson’s departure from the FCA was widely [...]
Morrisons to cut dividend and post lowest profit in eight years March 9, 2015 Morrisons is expected to signal lower dividend payouts on Thursday this week when the troubled supermarket chain is to report its lowest annual profit in eight years. The Bradford-based retailer has been hit hard by the fierce industry price war as all big four supermarkets battle it out to retain customers’ loyalty and fend off [...]
Traders at Barclays and Deutsche Bank questioned over Euribor rigging March 8, 2015 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is questioning former traders from Barclays and Deutsche Bank over possible Euribor rigging. According to the FT, which spoke to sources close to the matter, they are being interviewed “under caution”. This means the UK fraud investigators must have at least a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, and this type of [...]
Glaxosmithkline China dismisses more than 100 over bribery scandal that cost company £300m March 7, 2015 GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has booted more than 100 staff in China on the back of its investigations into the corruption scandal that ended with it being fined £300m last year. The company was found guilty last September of bribing doctors to prescribe its medicines, and began an internal investigation to ascertain the extent of the corruption. [...]
Deutsche Bank left with seven per cent stake in Merlin Entertainments March 6, 2015 Deutsche Bank has been left with a seven per cent stake in London Eye and Madame Tussauds owner Merlin Entertainments, after it offloaded a chunk of the company's stock earlier this week. Shares in Merlin plummeted fro 425p to 419p after the bank issued a statement saying its holding had crossed a seven per cent [...]
Quids in: Inside Poundland founder Steve Smith’s £5.7m mansion March 6, 2015 The house comes complete with water feature, although there's no word on whether the Roller is included in the price… (Source: Estates Direct) They say a pound doesn't stretch as far as it once did, but that doesn't seem to be the case for Poundland founder Steve Smith, who has put his Shropshire mansion up [...]