Honeywell and United Technologies timeline: What you need to know about last night’s rejected bid and what brought the two companies to this point February 27, 2016 Late last night, United Technologies' chief executive and president Greg Hayes issued a note revealing that the company had thrown out a takeover bid from rival Honeywell, slamming the offer for being "grossly" undervalued and stating that it would be "irresponsible to move forward with the proposed combination". As Honeywell is left to tend to [...]
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services puts Standard Chartered on negative watch a few days after bank reports major losses for the year February 26, 2016 Standard Chartered is at risk of having its rating cut by Standard & Poor's, it was revealed today. The ratings agency put the bank on negative watch this afternoon, which means the rating could move downwards the next time it is reviewed. Standard Chartered Bank previously had a stable outlook on its A+ rating, while [...]
G4S selling UK Children’s Services business, which consists of 13 children’s homes and contracts to manage two secure training centres February 26, 2016 G4S has today announced that it is selling its UK Children's Services business. The Children's Services business, which consists of 13 children's homes and contracts to manage two secure training centres at Medway and Oakhill, is being sold off as part of G4S's ongoing review into its business portfolio. The Children's Services division brought in revenues of [...]
Surprise: Dollar rises against the euro as US growth is revised upwards for the fourth quarter of 2015 February 26, 2016 The dollar rose this afternoon after US growth was unexpectedly revised upwards for the fourth quarter of last year – despite worries about global growth. GDP growth hit one per cent in the final three months of the year, figures from the US Commerce Department showed today, up from the 0.7 per cent initial estimate. That pushed [...]
FTSE 100 demotions and promotions: Sports Direct and Aberdeen Asset Management could be demoted in quarterly review February 26, 2016 Sports Direct could slip out of Britain's blue chip index at its quarterly review which is due to take place on Wednesday. Despite a boost to its brand from popular musicians such as UK grime artist Skepta, the company was the biggest casualty of disappointing trading which afflicted a number of its peers over the crucial [...]
Italy’s Eni whose chief executive Claudio Descalzi warned oil prices could hit $200 posts £6.6bn loss in the fourth quarter of 2015 February 26, 2016 The company whose chief executive famously warned oil prices could spike at $200 per barrel has been forced to slash spending, after writedowns driven by low oil prices pushed it to a loss in the fourth quarter. Italian oil major Eni announced plans to cut capital expenditure by 20 per cent this year, as it revealed an [...]
RBS share price plummets as litigation costs mount for RBS – but losses narrow February 26, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) shares plummeted 10.5 per cent to 218.3p as markets opened, despite losses narrowing to just under £2bn last year. Still, it's its eighth straight year of losses. The figures RBS said its loss attributable to ordinary shareholders hit £1.98bn last year, down from £3.47bn in 2014. Total income fell to £12.92bn, from £15.15bn last year, while pre-tax profits [...]
London Stock Exchange Group chief executive Xavier Rolet to step down following Deutsche Boerse proposed merger completion, and Carsten Kengeter to be boss of newly combined group February 26, 2016 Current chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) Xavier Rolet will step down from his role once the proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse completes. In an announcement about the proposed merger this morning, the exchanges revealed that the newly combined company would be domiciled in the UK, with LSE in London and Deutsche Boerse in Frankfurt as subsidiaries and headquarters [...]
UK Oil & Gas: Ukog share price falls as pre-tax losses widen February 26, 2016 The figures: UK Oil & Gas' pre-tax losses widened by around 87 per cent to £1.7m, from £906m a year earlier. This was largely due to costs associated with the group's investments and assets, particularly within its core Weald Basin Portland and Kimmeridge tight oil licences and the new Isle of Wight portfolio. The Aim-listed company invested £3.7m [...]
IAG share price falls despite low fuel costs boosting profits for 2015 February 26, 2016 British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) has unveiled higher than expected profits for the year ending 2015, as a result of cheaper fuel prices and customer demand. The airline conglomerate, which represents British Airways and Iberia, among others, reported an operating profit before exceptional items of €2.34bn (£1.84bn) last year – a year-on-year increase of 125 per cent. [...]
