Plus500 share price plummets as scores of UK accounts are frozen May 18, 2015 Panicked stock market traders fled from spreadbetter Plus500 yesterday, after the group froze thousands of trading accounts held by UK investors, wiping more than £300m off the value of the company. The Israeli-based tech firm, which lets punters bet on asset price movements through CFDs (contracts-for-difference), said it was temporarily banning UK users from [...]
Greece insists deal to avoid bankruptcy is imminent as Jean-Claude Juncker offers a lifeline May 18, 2015 Greek officials expect technocrats to nail down an agreement this week that would unlock billions of euros to help the country and avoid it going bankrupt. The renewed optimism may have been the result of an intervention by European Commission (EC) Jean-Claude Juncker. Reports in Greek media suggest Juncker has outlined a much more favourable [...]
Sajid Javid to tackle late payments owed to small businesses in new enterprise bill May 18, 2015 The new business secretary will today promise to cut red tape and put at least £10bn back in the pockets of business owners over the next five years. Speaking at a business centre in Bristol, Sajid Javid will announce a new enterprise bill to be included in the Queen’s speech next week. He will say: “As [...]
Phoenix Spree Deutschland IPO: German rental property fund eyes a float on the London Stock Exchange May 18, 2015 German real estate investment vehicle Phoenix Spree Deutschland will today announce it intends to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange next month. The company, which focuses on German residential property, will list in the second week of June, with 69.9m shares on the block. The firm, which was founded by a [...]
Blinkx share price dives as results show impact of market concerns on ads May 18, 2015 Shares in online advertising company Blinkx fell by 10.26 per cent yesterday, after swinging to a pre-tax loss of $25m (£16m) in the year ended 31 March. The Aim-listed company reported a profit of $18m last year. Revenue also fell, from $247m to $215m. The poor performance comes as the firm deals with [...]
Bwin.party share price rises as GVC joins with poker giant Amaya for new bid May 18, 2015 The battle for online gambling firm Bwin.party accelerated yesterday, with a new entrant to the bidding war. GVC said that instead of pushing for a reverse takeover alone, it was combining its hand with Canadian online poker giant Amaya for a takeover bid worth around €1.5bn (£1bn). A source close to the matter [...]
Sir Hector Sants to lead new review into competitiveness of British banks May 18, 2015 A former top City regulator has been tapped to lead a new review of the competitiveness of Britain’s banking sector. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has asked Sir Hector Sants to look at whether tax and regulatory reforms in the wake of the financial crisis hurt Britain’s international reputation as a banking centre, Sky [...]
BT wins major aviation contract with Emirates to manage contact centres May 18, 2015 BT Group has won a six-year, multimillion-pound contract with Emirates to manage the airline’s contact centres around the world Building on a deal agreed in 2009, BT will now upgrade and manage the latest versions of contact centre technology. This will improve how agents combine dealing with calls, emails and webchat enquiries. Emirates will use [...]
Thorntons share price rises as CEO Jonathan Hart announces departure May 18, 2015 British chocolate maker Thorntons said yesterday its chief executive, Jonathan Hart, would step down by the end of June and that chief operating officer Barry Bloomer will take on the role of interim CEO. Thorntons said it would begin a search for Hart’s successor, but did not cite any reason for the departure of the [...]
UK government’s Green Investment Bank joins E.On to fund Rampion offshore wind farm May 18, 2015 The government-backed UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) yesterday announced it has bought a £236m stake in a joint venture with E.On to build and own the Rampion offshore wind farm off the coast of Brighton. The project is receiving £1.3bn of funding in total, and will continue to be partly owned by Germany’s E.On following [...]