JP Morgan agrees $410m settlement over energy market manipulation allegations July 30, 2013 JP Morgan Ventures Energy Corporation has agreed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to pay ratepayers the sum of $410m (£268m) to settle a US energy probe (release). JP Morgan neither admits or denies the allegations, which involve market manipulation from the company’s bidding activities in electricity markets in California and the Midwest from [...]
Pfizer earnings beat expectations as it reiterates full year forecast July 30, 2013 US drugs giant Pfizer has reported second quarter earnings just beating analysts’ estimates as it prepares to split its commercial operations (release). Adjusted income fell ten per cent to $4bn (£2.6bn) or 56 cents per share from $4.45bn or 59 cents per share the year before. Analysts had expected to see earnings per share of [...]
One of America’s biggest hospital operators buys rival to take advantage of Obamacare July 30, 2013 The second largest for profit US hospital operator – Community Health Systems – has announced the purchase of its small rival Health Management Associates (release). CHS will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common stock of HMA for a combination of cash and CHS stock currently valued at $13.78 per HMA share, based on [...]
Greek lottery deal could open door to €650m OPAP privatisation July 30, 2013 Greece has secured a €190m deal with a consortium led by its gambling monopoly OPAP to run the state lotteries for the next twelve years, Reuters reports, citing a senior official involved in the talks. The Greek government agreed in May to sell a 33 per cent stake in OPAP to Greek-Czech fund Emma Delta [...]
How awful would the market for cars be if we treated them like houses? July 30, 2013 The market for housing in the UK is perverse. By comparing it with the market for cars, Duncan Stott, affordable housing campaigner for PricedOut, shows just how mad our system is: Imagine if every car that got made had to get planning permission to be manufactured, with the aim of protecting the environment and avoiding [...]
Initial reactions to Barclays results and capital shortfall plan July 30, 2013 Source: Yahoo Following the drop in Barclays's share price after it announced a drop in profits and plans to fill a bigger-than-expected £12.8bn capital hole, analysts have been mulling what this means for the bank. Mark Kimsey, a senior trader at Accendo Markets, says investors are getting fed up with Barclays and moving into state-owned [...]
Watch: The UK doesn’t need an online sales tax July 30, 2013 Spiralling UK business rates are crippling high street shops. But Morning Wire editor Allister Heath explains why an online sales tax is not the answer. We need lower rates, not yet another tax that would cost consumers and hit the poor hardest.
Huge jump in UK confidence boosts European Union numbers July 30, 2013 European Union confidence is up – and we have the non-Euro area UK to thank. While the EU rise in confidence was in-line with expectations, the UK saw a terrific jump in July. On a country basis, the main reason for the sharper plus was markedly improving confidence in the largest non-euro area EU economy, [...]
Eurozone economic sentiment hits 15-month high July 30, 2013 Economic sentiment in the Eurozone rose to 92.5 in July from 91.3 the month before. This is the third consecutive month of increases and puts the index at a 15-month high. However, forecasts of 92.6 were just slightly too optimistic (release). Growth was driven by confidence boosts in industry (up 0.6 to -10.6) services (beating [...]
Hedge fund manager pushes Sony to ditch entertainment division July 30, 2013 Activist investor Dan Loeb has stepped up his campaign to force Sony into spinning off its entertainment group in an investor letter. Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point owns around seven per cent of Sony. While he says the company as a whole is “significantly undervalued”, the entertainment division is “poorly managed, with a famously bloated [...]