Commerzbank chief Martin Blessing to leave in October 2016 November 1, 2015 Martin Blessing, chief executive of Commerzbank, has today announced he will step down from his position when his contract expires in October 2016. Blessing has been on the bank’s board of managing directors for 15 years and has held the chief executive post since 2008. Commenting on his decision, Blessing said: “I was delighted to [...]
UK challenger Metro Bank could do more fund-raising instead of an IPO November 1, 2015 Leading challenger Metro Bank is considering scrapping its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) next year in favour of more rounds of private fund-raising. Metro Bank, which has been in business since 2010, said in its third-quarter results announcement last week that it “continues to target” a listing for next year. But the bank's founder and [...]
More bad news from China: Factory activity contracts for a third consecutive month November 1, 2015 In the latest sign of China's economic slowdown factory output contracted in October for the third consecutive month, against expectations. The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 49.8 for October, the same as September. While the figure was the same, implying some stability, any number under 50 implies a contraction. Read more: Is China's move [...]
European Central Bank: Greek banks need to find €14.4bn in new capital October 31, 2015 Greek banks are in need of cash (and digging down the back of the sofa is unlikely to cut it). The four biggest Greek banks need a combined €14.4bn (£10.3bn) in new capital if they are to survive, according to the European Central Bank. The central bank has assessed Piraeus Bank, Alpha Bank, the National [...]
Oil giant Chevron to cut around 10 per cent of its workforce October 30, 2015 The figures Oil giant Chevron said announced it could cut between 6,000 and 7,000 jobs and slash its capital budget by 25 per cent as low oil prices continued their rampage across the sector. Chevron now plans to spend between $25bn (£16.2bn) to $28bn next year, and expects to further slash spending in 2017 and 2018. It reported net [...]
LinkedIn share price soars after strong results that smashed expectations October 30, 2015 Professional networking site LinkedIn's share prices skyrocketed 12.25 per cent to $243.52 as markets in America opened today after posting results that smashed expectations yesterday. LinkedIn posted earnings per share of $0.78 compared to forecasts of $0.46, with a 37 per cent jump in revenue to £780m (£509m). Read more: The 20 companies Britons are desperate [...]
Bitcoin price: The digital currency just hit a 2015 high October 30, 2015 Bitcoin’s on a roll. The digital currency has been gaining speed all month, and just zoomed past its July peak to hit a new high for 2015 at $320. This puts bitcoin up 37 per cent over the month. Bitcoin prices plummeted over 2014, from a high of $1,150, and 2015 didn’t start much better. [...]
Exxon Mobil profits slide amid low oil prices but beat expectations October 30, 2015 The figures Exxon Mobil posted profits of $4.24bn (£2.76bn) between July and September, down 47 per cent from $8.07bn a year earlier. The oil major's revenue also fell 37 per cent to $63.75bn. Refining, or downstream, profits nearly doubled to $2bn from a year earlier, while earnings at Exxon's upstream business, also known as exploration and production, crashed 79 per cent to $1.36bn. Oil and gas [...]
TalkTalk share price soars as internal investigation shows hack affected “significantly” fewer customers than originally thought October 30, 2015 The number of people affected by the TalkTalk hack unveiled last Thursday is “significantly less” than originally suspected, the company said today. Hoping to reassure worried customers, TalkTalk has released official figures based on an internal investigation showing how many people had their data accessed, revealing that some 20,000 bank account numbers and 28,000 partially [...]
Harrods cuts dividend by over 30 per cent despite rise in profits October 30, 2015 Harrods, the landmark London department store, cut its dividend payment by more than 30 per cent this year after a fall in turnover caused by 'tough trading conditions'. The retailer's financial accounts reveal although profits edged up 4.2 per cent, investors will receive a reduced dividend payment of £103m, a 31.3 per cent drop from last year's £150m record payout. Read [...]