More cost cutting to come at Charles Stanley November 26, 2015 Costs will continue to be cut at broker Charles Stanley as it works to transform itself into a holistic wealth manager over the next three to five years. The news of further cuts comes as the company reports its half yearly results, with profit at its core business up 200 per cent to £3m. Chief executive [...]
Quindell buyer Slater & Gordon share price halves after George Osborne reveals plans to overhaul to personal injury law November 26, 2015 Slater & Gordon shares crashed today, leading the company to lose half of its stock market value, following changes to UK personal injury law. Shares in the Australia-listed law group, which snapped up Quindell's legal arm earlier this year, were down 51.4 per cent to 0.94 AUD at the close. It came after the UK government [...]
Barclays fined £72m by Financial Conduct Authority for failing to undertake proper financial crime checks – but share price is up November 26, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today announced it was fining Barclays £72m for "failing to minimise the risk it may have been used to facilitate financial crime." In 2011 and 2012 Barclays oversaw a £1.88bn transaction between a number of "politically exposed" ultra-high net worth individuals, who are seen to be especially vulnerable to the risk of [...]
FTSE 100 index opens up on miners November 26, 2015 The FTSE 100 opened slightly up this morning as miners made gains as trading began. The UK's top blue-chip index was up 0.33 per cent at 6,358 points as the market opened. Glencore led the pack higher, up 3.29 per cent to 93.6p on opening, while other miners including Antofagasta and Anglo American were also rising. Read [...]
Severn Trent share price rises as first half profit inches up as customer complaints fall November 26, 2015 The figures Utility firm Severn Trent's group turnover was broadly flat at £896.1m in the six months to September 30, from a restated £898.3m during the same period a year earlier. The FTSE 100-listed company's underlying profit before interest and tax – another measure of profitability – increased by 2.6 per cent to £281m, up from £273.8m a [...]
DMGT sells Wowcher to new company owned by private equity firm Exponent for £29m November 26, 2015 The Daily Mail General Trust has offloaded discounts business Wowcher to a newly-formed company, which is majority owned by private equity firm Exponent. DMGT will retain a stake in Wowcher, which has achieved its first full year of operating profits in the 12 months to September 30 and generated revenues of £30m, through a 30 per [...]
UK oil and gas: Confidence in the North Sea oil industry plummets to all-time low November 26, 2015 More woes for UK oil, as a new industry report shows confidence in the embattled North Sea oil and gas industry plunging to a new record low. Four in five contractors feel less confident about their prospects now than they did last year, according to the latest Oil and Gas Survey. Unsurprising, perhaps, considering the [...]
Consumers don’t trust UK businesses to keep their data safe from cybercrime after TalkTalk, Carphone Warehouse and Ashley Madison hacks November 25, 2015 From TalkTalk to Carphone Warehouse and Ashley Madison, massive hacks have hardly been out of the spotlight this autumn. It now appears that the constant stream of highly-publicised data breaches have begun taking their toll on UK businesses’ reputation with consumers. Three in four Brits no longer believe that organisations and companies will ever be [...]
Lloyds Banking Group to cut 1,000 jobs as restructure continues November 25, 2015 Lloyds Banking Group is slashing another 1,000 jobs tomorrow, as part of the bank's plans to restructure to a more digital focus. The bank will be officially announcing the job cuts, which will be spread across all operations, tomorrow according to sources to Sky News. The state-backed banking group set a target to reduce its [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Local councils allowed to take home all receipts from property sales November 25, 2015 Local councils will be allowed to keep all of the money raised from asset sales to reinvest in local services, the chancellor announced today, as part of a wider move to encourage the sale of hundred of billions of pounds of public sector land. In his Autumn Statement speech, chancellor George Osborne said locals governments [...]
