Today’s job cuts at Shell and Centrica were about more than just rapidly falling oil prices July 31, 2015 The UK’s offshore oil and gas industry is at a crossroads. Though it has spent over £500bn and employed hundreds of thousands people in high-skilled jobs across the UK to extract the nation’s oil and gas over the last 50 years, it has found itself with a bloated cost base and worrying inefficiency. Job [...]
Alton Towers Smiler rollercoaster crash takes shine off Merlin Entertainments sales July 31, 2015 Merlin Entertainments has posted an increase in revenue in the first half of the year despite trading being “significantly impacted” due to a rollercoaster collision last month in which four people were left seriously injured. In a trading statement released just days after the company issued a major profits warning, the Alton Towers owner [...]
Henderson surprises with £25m buyback plan after riding out rough markets July 31, 2015 Fund manager Henderson yesterday unveiled a £25m share buyback programme after beating expectations with a near 30 per cent rise in underlying profits. However, the firm, led by chief executive Andrew Formica, said the market rout in June had caused assets under management to fall by eight per cent to £82.1bn from £89.4bn compared to [...]
Countrywide share price slumps after UK housing market slowdown July 31, 2015 Shares in the UK’s biggest estate agency Countrywide tumbled four per cent yesterday after posting a sharp fall in profits, blaming a “difficult housing market” and the uncertainty in the run-up to the General Election. The company, which owns estate agencies including Hamptons, Blundells and John D Wood, said profit before tax decreased [...]
Xchanging share price plummets and David Andrews quits as results shock market July 31, 2015 A dramatic share price slump, performance issues and a chief executive departure…sadly Xchanging is in familiar territory. The business outsourcing group saw the value of its shares fall more than 22 per cent yesterday, after first-half results showed larger-than-expected losses from its procurement unit, as it announced boss Ken Lever’s resignation. Revenue slumped 2.8 per [...]
Linkedin share price jumps as revenue beats expectations July 30, 2015 Linkedin's second quarter figures exceeded expectations by a long way, and investors were delighted. The figures From April to June, the professional networking site's revenue was $712m (£456m) – a 33.3 per cent increase from the year before. This was better than the $680m analysts were expecting. Read more: LinkedIn share price plummets as second [...]
British Airways is shrinking its hand luggage allowance to reduce risk of delays July 30, 2015 British Airways is reducing the amount of hand luggage each passenger can take on board with them, to limit the chance that the overall cabin allowance is exceeded. Read more: Carry-on luggage on airlines including Lufthansa and Emirates is about to get even smaller In an email sent to customers, it said that the [...]
FCA bans ex-trader Lee Stewart over Libor-rigging scandal July 30, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned another former Rabobank trader over their role in the Libor rate-rigging scandal. The regulator banned Lee Stewart from the financial services industry for lacking honesty and integrity. Earlier this year Stewart pleaded guilty in the US for his role in a conspiracy to manipulate Rabobank’s US dollar Libor submissions. "Mr Stewart [...]
MH370: Code on Reunion debris suggests it came from Boeing 777, while suitcase washed up on nearby coastline July 30, 2015 Update: A code has been found on wreckage washed up on an Indian Ocean island last night, adding weight to the view that it belongs to a Boeing 777 – potentially the missing flight MH370. A two-metre-long (6ft) piece of wreckage washed up on the French Indian Ocean island, which sits 370 miles east [...]
Facebook share price dips as spending soars July 30, 2015 Facebook reports positive earnings one again, but investors aren't impressed by it's expenditures. The figures During the second quarter, Facebook's year-on-year revenue went up 39 per cent to $4.04bn (£2.59bn), while earnings-per-share increased from 42 cents to 50 cents. Read more: Facebook makes new friends as it doubles its London HQ The results were [...]