Gawker website to close after company’s sale to Univision August 18, 2016 US website Gawker.com is to close next week after Univision successfully bid for the company earlier this week. The closure, after nearly 14 years in operation, comes after the publication lost a court battle with wrestler Hulk Hogan. In May, Gawker Media was ordered to pay out $140m to Hogan. Read more: Gawker said to be [...]
Banks blame Draghi for their dwindling profits October 18, 2016 There is no end in sight for Europe's squeezed banking sector as the continent's top lenders prepare to feel the pain of negative interest rates for at least the next six months. Nearly every bank in the Eurozone said their profits had been hit as a result of the European Central Bank (ECB)'s historically low [...]
HSBC shares rise as it agrees $1.6bn settlement with Household International shareholders June 17, 2016 HSBC has reached a settlement with shareholders after a dispute over its acquisition of Household International, back in 2003. The company said it will pay just under $1.6bn (£1.1bn) to shareholders after a class action lawsuit filed in 2002. HSBC bought the company for $14.2bn back in 2003, in an effort to increase its share of [...]
Facebook shareholders give green light for share issue to keep Zuckerberg in control June 20, 2016 Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg will maintain control of the tech titan after investors approved a proposal to issue $5.7bn (£3.9bn) non-voting shares. He's now able to give away the vast majority of his wealth without diluting his voting power in the social media giant. "I plan on being involved in and running Facebook for a very long time," he told an annual [...]
Can we get a witness? Ed Sheeran facing copyright suit over Marvin Gaye classic August 10, 2016 Ed Sheeran has been hit with a copyright suit in the US over claims his smash hit Thinking Out Loud rips off the Marvin Gaye classic Let's Get It On. The suit has been brought by descendants of the late Ed Townsend, who wrote the 1973 hit with Gaye and held the copyright. The lawsuit, filed yesterday US federal court [...]
I went to Hollywood and, following a brief and unaccountable sense of impending doom, found it to be lovely February 10, 2017 "Look, there’s Angelyne." Our tour guide to the stars pointed to a woman in the lane next to us riding a hot pink Corvette. She looked pale and ageless, like hummus that had been moulded into the shape of a sad Dolly Parton. Her cloud of yellow hair was puffed out like a big candyfloss, [...]
Bank shares and stress tests: the value investor’s verdict December 8, 2016 The Bank of England’s latest stress tests of the UK banking system attracted many column inches of space in the newspapers last week. The aim was to calculate whether these institutions would have enough capital to withstand certain grim scenarios. Moving away from some of the inflammatory headlines, it is worth looking in more [...]
Bank shares and stress tests: the value investor’s verdict December 8, 2016 The Bank of England’s latest stress tests of the UK banking system attracted many column inches of space in the newspapers last week. The aim was to calculate whether these institutions would have enough capital to withstand certain grim scenarios. Moving away from some of the inflammatory headlines, it is worth looking in more detail [...]
BP braces for $2.5bn charge in second quarter results for 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill – taking final bill total to $61.6bn July 14, 2016 Oil giant BP is set to take a $2.5bn (£1.9bn) charge in its second quarter results as it reveals the final bill for 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The charge will take the final pre-tax bill for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest in US waters, to $61.6bn, or $44bn after tax. Nearly 5m barrels [...]
Cillian Willis: Former scrum-half to sue Sale Sharks over concussion treatment August 24, 2016 Former Sale Sharks rugby player Cillian Willis is suing his old club over the alleged mishandling of a concussion that led to his retirement. It is believed to be the first time a Premiership Rugby club has faced legal action over a concussion injury. Willis, cousin of former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll, was forced to call [...]