Wirecard hires KPMG to inspect accounting, days after dismissing calls for independent audit October 21, 2019 German payments giant Wirecard has hired KPMG to conduct an independent audit, in a bid to address claims its finance team had tried to inflate its reported sales and profits. The announcement was enough to push shares up 6.7 per cent this morning. It comes days after chairman Wulf Matthias dismissed calls for such an [...]
Serious Fraud Office shut down Libor rigging investigation October 19, 2019 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has shut down an investigation into the rigging of Libor. Libor is the benchmark interest rate that tracks the cost of borrowing cash. The decision comes despite evidence implicating the Bank of England, the BBC reports. Read more: Regulators say firms must not wait to move away from Libor The [...]
Natwest raises available loans for small businesses by over £2bn for Brexit support October 17, 2019 NatWest has added £2.2bn to a Brexit loan pot aimed at supporting small businesses amid Britain’s imminent departure of the EU. The high street lender is upping the size of its Growth Funding programme to £8.2bn after identifying thousands of smaller firms facing potential disruption with Brexit. Read more: Bank of America trumps estimates Natwest, [...]
Bank of America trumps estimates despite drop in profits October 16, 2019 Bank of America’s profits slumped almost 20 per cent in the third quarter of this year, but its shares rose on a better-than-expected performance. The lending giant’s share price climbed almost two per cent in premarket trading after three of the firm’s four main divisions posted a rise in revenue. Read more: Banks struggle with [...]
Afreximbank IPO: African bank confirms plans to list in London October 16, 2019 An African trade finance group has confirmed its plans to plough ahead with a listing in London, giving a boost to the capital’s ailing initial public offering (IPO) market. The African Export-Import Bank, which provides trade finance for large infrastructure projects across the continent, is hoping to raise $250m (£196m) in its float on the [...]
JP Morgan shares rise as strong consumer trading boosts third-quarter profit October 15, 2019 Shares in JP Morgan rose almost 2.5 per cent this afternoon after strong trading in its consumer division helped drive third-quarter profit growth. The bank posted net profit of $9.1bn (£7.2bn) or $2.68 per share, up eight per cent on last year and ahead of analysts’ estimates. Revenue also rose eight per cent to hit [...]
Bank of England’s Mark Carney defends move not to publish governor shortlist October 15, 2019 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has defended the application process to lead the central bank and suggested that too much transparency would discourage people from applying. Carney is due to step down in January and MPs and pressure groups have called on chancellor Sajid Javid to publish the short list of candidates to allow [...]
Goldman Sachs misses profit forecasts amid slump in advisory fees October 15, 2019 Goldman Sachs has missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit, amid fewer fees from advising on deals. Revenue at three of its four major business units fell in the most recent quarter, led by declines in investment banking due to fewer mergers and stock market floats. Goldman shares fell three per cent this afternoon. The [...]
Shore Capital delists from Aim stock market October 15, 2019 Shareholders have voted to remove Shore Capital from London’s Aim stock market in a crunch vote today. The broker will now stop public trading of its shares after 81.7 per cent of investors backed the motion. Read more: Shares slide as Shore Capital moots quitting Aim market Shore Capital needed at least 75 per cent [...]
Neil Woodford’s ‘sorry saga’ finally ends as flagship fund set to be wound up October 15, 2019 Neil Woodford is to be fired from his flagship fund, which will shortly be wound up, the administrator charged with overseeing its frozen assets has announced. Corporate director Link Fund Solutions has written to investors to say it will return their cash as soon as possible from Woodford Investment Management. Read more: Watchdog calls for [...]
