Markets around Europe are tumbling on disappointing Chinese currency reserves February 8, 2016 Markets around Europe have plummeted following what started out looking like a good day. The FTSE 100 is down by nearly two per cent and at pixel time is at 5,744.05. It opened up this morning but has been unable to hold onto early gains. The blue chip index is now just 100 points off from becoming [...]
Npower becomes latest “big six” energy supplier to slash gas bills after announcing 5.2 per cent cut February 8, 2016 Npower has become the latest "big six" energy supplier to whittle down customers' gas bills, amid mounting calls for firms to pass on record low wholesale gas prices to their customers. It comes after similar cuts from rivals E.ON, SSE and Scottish Power in recent weeks, on the back of falling wholesale gas prices. Npower said that it [...]
Flexible working boosts productivity and profits February 8, 2016 Flexible working regularly gets honourable mentions alongside things like longer holidays as one of employees’ most-wanted perks. And it now seems firms are catching on fast. Three quarters of companies worldwide have adopted flexible working policies, according to a survey from Vodafone of 8,000 employers and employees across 10 countries and three continents. And the [...]
Boardroom diversity isn’t everything: Female executives boost firms’ profits February 8, 2016 Stop obsessing over women on boards: if you want results, what really matters is more women in leadership, according to a major study analysing 21,000 companies worldwide. Firms with at least 30 per cent female leaders stand to gain as much as six percentage points to their profit margins. Those with no female representation pay [...]
Imagination Technologies share price drops as chief executive Sir Hossein Yassaie leaves and chip maker sells Pure February 8, 2016 Imagination Technologies’ chief executive, Sir Hossein Yassaie, has stepped down from the troubled chip maker with immediate effect. Yassaie has been with Imagination since 1992, but is leaving as the firm attempts a major rehaul. The embattled UK chip maker has seen over 40 per cent of its value wiped off in the past three [...]
Randgold Resources share price soars on record gold production despite commodities crisis taking a chunk out of profits February 8, 2016 Randgold Resources posted record production last year, boasting it was “one of the best in its history”, despite slumping gold prices taking a chunk out of its profits. The figures Randgold, the South African gold miner, posted record-breaking production for the quarter ending 31 December, up six per cent year-on-year. The firm’s profits were down [...]
Majority of British public think companies receiving taxpayer’s money should be subject to Freedom of Information laws – 38 Degrees February 8, 2016 Six in 10 Brits believe Freedom of Information (FOI) laws should apply to companies receiving taxpayers' money to provide public services, according to a new poll released today. The survey, commissioned by campaigns group 38 Degrees and carried out by YouGov, showed only 10 per cent of the British public would oppose applying FOI laws to [...]
European central bankers call for eurozone finance ministry February 8, 2016 The eurozone needs a stronger regulatory framework, including its own finance ministry, to deliver sustainable growth and create more jobs, the leaders of the French and German central banks wrote in a German newspaper this morning. In an article for the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann and Bank of France Chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau [...]
Mining sector burning through cash reserves after commodity price crash February 8, 2016 The value of cash held by London Stock Exchange-listed mining companies fell by £1.1bn in the last year, according to research released today by Banc De Binary. The findings show a fall in cash reserves across all LSE-listed mining companies from £24.3bn to £23.2bn over the last 12 months. A drop of £780m was recorded in [...]
Chancellor George Osborne’s stamp duty reforms cost the Treasury £662m in 2015 February 8, 2016 George Osborne’s overhaul of the stamp duty tax regime has cost the taxpayer well over half a billion pounds in lost revenue last year, new research today reveals, as sales of high-end homes slowed and investors switched tactics to avoid paying huge premiums on purchases. In December 2014 the chancellor scrapped the old system, where the [...]
