Struggling banks must not be immune to watchdog’s bite August 12, 2015 It's two years since “saying it with Flowers” gained entry into the lexicon of British banking. This week’s dual censure from the banking and City regulators will have felt like groundhog day to Niall Booker and the rest of the Co-operative Bank’s management. The Treasury Select Committee and a review by Sir Christopher [...]
Gold prices rise for fifth consecutive day on worries about China’s economic slowdown August 12, 2015 The price of gold went up for the fifth day in a row today, as uncertainty about China’s flagging economic growth had investors fleeing to safer havens. Rising 1.4 per cent to $1,124.01 an ounce, gold prices are recovering from the five-year low that had gold miners feeling the squeeze. Mining companies were buoyed by [...]
Did Google forget to Google Alphabet? BMW owns Alphabet.com – and has no intention of selling August 12, 2015 Looks like Google forgot to Google Alphabet before radically restructuring their whole company. Google’s new parent company won’t be able to register alphabet.com, because it’s already owned by German carmaker BMW, who have a fleet of cars under the same name, and are unamused to say the least by Google’s surprise move. The two giants [...]
Mapped: These are London’s “filthiest” supermarkets August 12, 2015 Hygiene inspectors have found around a third of Britain's "filthiest supermarkets" are located in London, according to data from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) crunched by the Mirror. The FSA ranking stretches from zero which means urgent improvement is required, to "5" which means the hygiene standards are very good. Those listed were among a handful of [...]
G4S revenue up as new contract sales reach £1.4bn August 12, 2015 G4S said revenues rose to £3.3bn in the first half of this year, thanks to new contracts and growth in emerging markets. G4S share price is trading 0.8 per cent down on the news at 264.9p. The figures The outsourcing giant reported underlying profit before interest, tax and amortisation of £193m in the first six months [...]
Tesco share price dips on Dunnhumby and Korea deal discount troubles August 12, 2015 More troubles could be coming down the checkout line for supermarket boss Dave Lewis. Tesco is in for a "big blow" if it fails to make the £2bn it has been expecting on the sale of its Dunnhumby data arm, a deal which has had several firms scrambling to make an offer. The deal may [...]
Alphabet soup? Here’s what the new Google looks like August 12, 2015 No wonder Google bosses felt they needed to make the structure of the company a little more, well, structured. The span of the less than two-decades-old company is dizzying. The arrival of new finance chief Ruth Porat bringing new, and very experienced, eyes to the business may have spurred a clearer line for reporting earnings [...]
Former Co-operative Bank execs to face regulator scrutiny August 12, 2015 The Co-operative Bank may have avoided paying a financial penalty for its “serious and wide-ranging failings” between 2009 and 2013, but it is expected that the firm’s former management will face fines and punishments in the months ahead. The Bank of England’s prudential regulation authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said yesterday [...]
Card Factory set to return cash to investors as new stores boost sales August 12, 2015 Budget greetings card chain Card Factory announced yesterday that it plans to return cash to shareholders after the opening of new stores and a relaunch of its website helped boost sales in the first half. The Wakefield-based retailer said total sales grew by eight per cent in the six months to 31 July thanks to [...]
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway risks downgrading by Standard & Poor’s after Precision Castparts deal August 11, 2015 Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway risks being downgraded by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, after its record deal to buy aerospace manufacturer Precision Castparts. The acquisition worth $37.2bn has caused S&P to worry about Berkshire Hathaway’s cash resources, putting it on "CreditWatch Negative". The company is currently rated "AA", the third-highest of 10 possible ratings. Read [...]
