Co-Op reports major losses in its banking division August 29, 2013 The Co-Operative Group has reported major losses for the first half of the year and regulators have reaffirmed its £1.5bn capital shortfall (release). The group made £559m of pre-tax losses in the first half of the year after writing off £496m of bad loans mostly relating to Britannia Building Society, which merged with its troubled [...]
Governor stands firm on plan for UK interest rates August 28, 2013 INTEREST rates could stay at rock bottom even after unemployment falls below seven per cent, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said yesterday. In a bid to convince sceptical markets he really is serious about keeping rates down for the next three years, Carney said he would look for a wide range of evidence that [...]
Driving down costs of car insurance August 27, 2013 Annabel Palmer on how customers could cut down their hefty London insurance premiums THE AA recently announced that comprehensive car insurance premiums saw their biggest fall since the motoring organisation’s records began in 1994. The average annual quote declined to £594.86 by the second quarter of this year, a 9.8 per cent drop from July [...]
US existing home sales increase at fastest rate in three years August 21, 2013 More homes than expected were sold in the US in July, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) (release). Existing home sales – which are completed transactions including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39m in July – up from a downwardly revised [...]
Speed is not of the essence in the disposal of RBS branches August 20, 2013 THE ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) was yesterday called upon to get a move on in the disposal of 316 branches it has been required to make as a condition of its 2008 bailout by the UK taxpayer. Urging it to make a speedy decision are two of the three short-listed bidders who are vying [...]
Royal London profits double August 20, 2013 Pensions and life insurance giant Royal London yesterday announced an impressive 105 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £226m for the first six months of 2013. The mutual, which recently bought the Co-op’s life insurance arm for £219m, said it had benefited from the introduction of new rules that ban the payment of commission [...]
How Britain can take advantage of a global growth in digital industries August 20, 2013 MOST new jobs are not created by established big businesses adding a few people here and there, or by the many smaller firms that are happy to stay small rather than take a risk and expand. Our future prosperity depends on a relatively small number of rapidly growing firms: high growth “gazelles”. So if we [...]
Co-op bondholders expect MPs to probe controversial rescue August 4, 2013 BONDHOLDERS who stand to lose out under the Co-op Bank’s rescue plan are expecting MPs to probe the deal after the summer recess, they told City A.M. yesterday. Mark Taber, who is campaigning on behalf of more than 1,600 Co-op bondholders, said he is “quite sure” the Treasury select committee is preparing to haul Co-op [...]
Bottom Line: Antony Jenkins’ plans are being undermined for no good reason July 30, 2013 Antony Jenkins must wonder if it is really worth all the effort – despite everything he has done to rehabilitate Barclays’ image after last year’s disasters, the authorities have still found ways to keep investors worried. The chief took over after the former chairman, chief executive and chief operating officer all quit in the [...]
Co-op call for mag cover up July 29, 2013 THE CO-OPERATIVE supermarket yesterday said it would stop stocking racy magazines if they failed to cover up their front pages. The group said images of scantily-clad women depicted on covers of so-called lads’ mags had led to complaints from customers. The magazines will have to censor their front pages with so-called modesty bags by 9 [...]