FTSE 100 index closes flat on last day of the month as supermarkets come into focus February 29, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed slightly higher on the quiet last day of the month after the G20 disappointed over the weekend. The UK's blue-chip index closed 0.02 per cent higher at 6,097 points. "It was almost as if investors forgot about the leap day and no investments were planned on a quiet last day of the month," said [...]
Twitter files its annual report after a rough year: monthly active users stagnate as head count remains stubbonly high February 29, 2016 Twitter has missed its own targets for a reduction in its head count as it struggles with stagnant user growth and stalling revenue. Despite promising to rein in costs, staff numbers at Twitter rose by approximately 260 full-time employees over the year to hit a whopping 3,898 at the end of December 2015. At the tail end [...]
WH Ireland Group share price up despite wealth management company falling into a loss-making position for its year ended November 2015 after FCA levies £1.2m fine February 29, 2016 Share price in WH Ireland Group rose today despite the company tumbling into a loss after accounting for a regulatory fine. The wealth management company reported a loss before tax of £346,000 for its year ended November 2015, down from a profit of £456,000 the year before, after finding itself subject to a £1.2m fine [...]
Argentina makes $4.65bn deal with holdout creditors pathing the way for return to international capital markets February 29, 2016 Argentina has finally come to an agreement in principal with a group of holdout creditors to end a 15-year legal fight over defaulted debt. The country will pay the group $4.65bn, which is close to 75 per cent of the full judgements, including the principal and interest, according to Bloomberg. The agreement is expected to clear [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive Ross McEwan, chairman Sir Howard Davies, and chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson bought almost £1m shares in the taxpayer-backed bank February 29, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) revealed today that its top bosses have bought up nearly £1m in shares in the lender, just days after the taxpayer-backed bank reported disappointing results for 2015. News of the bank’s eighth consecutive year of losses sent RBS shares down more than seven per cent at the end of last week. Investors were doubly [...]
Icahn Enterprises share price rises despite widening losses and falling revenues for the full year ended December 2015 February 29, 2016 Share price in Icahn Enterprises rose today despite the company revealing that its revenues had fallen and its losses widen. The conglomerate company announced net losses attributable of $1.2bn (£860m) for the year ended December 2015, down from a loss of $373m the year before. Meanwhile, the company, which has investments across numerous sectors such [...]
Saudi Arabia pushes oil price higher as it promises to stabilise the market February 29, 2016 The oil price was been pushed higher this afternoon after de facto Opec leader Saudi Arabia vowed it will try to limit volatility as it tries to stabilise the market. Oil investors are closely watching for any sign that Saudi may be weakening its previous commitment not to cut output even as it tries to broker a [...]
People’s Bank of China cuts reserve requirement for fifth time in 12 months February 29, 2016 China has cut the amount of cash it requires banks to hold in reserve, the country's central bank announced today. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut the reserve ratio by 0.5 per cent in order to "maintain adequate liquidity" and ensure steady growth in money and credit. The move will take effect from tomorrow. The reserve [...]
Researchers have found a way to predict future oil prices February 29, 2016 From its sensitivity to shocks in global supply and demand, to outside factors such as the weather, oil prices are notoriously difficult to predict. After all, hardly anyone foresaw the current rout which has wiped around 70 per cent off the value of crude since the middle of 2014. But companies around the world have been forced to [...]
Pound could fall to parity with the euro if Brexit vote gets through, warns UBS, as Deutsche Bank says Brexit would be a “journey down the rabbit hole” for UK economy February 29, 2016 Economic wonks at UBS have calculated the British pound could fall to equal value to the euro, if the UK does decide to quit the European Union in the vote set for 23 June. UBS reckons the chance that the UK will leave the EU stands at around 40 per cent. The latest warning follows [...]
