As David Cameron vows to crack down on corrupt foreigners buying London properties, can PM lift the shroud of secrecy? July 30, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron grabbed headlines this week when he said: “There is no place for dirty money in Britain.” Vowing to remove a “shroud of secrecy” surrounding luxury London properties owned by offshore holding companies, the Prime Minister said in a speech in Singapore that the UK “must not become a safe haven for [...]
Barclays boss John McFarlane looks to cut costs despite profit rise in bid to streamline bank July 30, 2015 Barclays, Britain’s largest bank after HSBC, yesterday delivered £3.1bn of pre-tax profits for the first half of this year, boosted by a 36 per cent rise in the performance of its investment banking arm, which chipped in almost half the total. The investment bank made £1.44bn pre-tax profit. John McFarlane, who joined the bank as [...]
RBS to cut Citizens stake to 20pc after $2.6bn sell-off of shares July 30, 2015 The Royal Bank of Scotland is accelerating its exit from US bank Citizens Financial after unveiling a proposal to sell its remaining stake in the lender within the next five months. The bank, which is expected to unveil a half-year loss this morning, will sell up to a 18.4 per cent stake in the Citizens [...]
Clash over Greek debt set to hinder new bailout deal July 30, 2015 Greece’s debt crisis is set to flare up again, as the head of one of the country’s biggest creditors said there needs to be a substantial write-down of the country’s debt, a move inconsistent with EU treaties. “For any programme to fly, a significant debt restructuring should take place,” International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine [...]
Dollar goes crazy following interest rate uncertainty from the Fed July 29, 2015 It has been a rollercoaster of an evening for the dollar, which first plummeted and then picked back up again as investors felt uncertain about how to react to the Fed's statement. Read more: The Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged and gives no hint of when they will rise With no clear indication [...]
The Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged and gives no hint of when they will rise July 29, 2015 In its statement this evening the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and gave no clear indication of when they will rise. Read more: US interest rate hike: Are emerging markets in for a bumpy ride? Analysts were listening out for a possible hike before the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee [...]
John ‘Mac the Knife’ McFarlane raises fears with investors that egos will rule the roost at Barclays July 29, 2015 Is there a bank director with a thicker hide than John McFarlane? The tone of yesterday’s interim results from Barclays, which comfortably beat City forecasts, would more ordinarily be accompanied by the praise of a chairman for their chief executive. Instead, the newly installed executive chairman, McFarlane, struggled to find reasons for burying him. The [...]
Taylor Wimpey boosted by General Election as profits rise July 29, 2015 Taylor Wimpey said yesterday it would return more cash to shareholders after pre-tax profit rose by a third to £238m in the first half, boosted by a pick-up in trading following the General Election. Chief executive Peter Redfern said that since May it has seen a significant improvement in consumer confidence and mortgage availability, which [...]
Looks like we’re not going back to $50 Brent crude after oil prices rose following positive news on supplies July 29, 2015 The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil jumped 1.1 per cent to $53.94 in late afternoon trading after a report showed a surprise dip in US oil reserves. A report by the US Energy Information Administration showed oil stocks fell to 459.7m barrels in the week to Friday, down 4.2m barrels from the [...]
Twitter share price plucked on user growth worries wiping billions from value July 29, 2015 Twitter investors must be spitting feathers. Shares in the social network have swooped 13 per cent lower, wiping several billion from the company's market value, after reporting muted growth in user numbers. “Monthly users grew only 0.7 per cent sequentially to 304m, while US monthly users remained at 65m, showing no growth. Annually, global users [...]