Meet our prince: Baby Cambridge leaves hospital with parents July 23, 2013 CHEERING crowds greeted the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William last night as they left St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, giving the world the first glimpse of their son. The third in line to the throne, who was born on Monday afternoon, was held by both parents and delighted onlookers as his raised hands resembled [...]
Hooked on help to buy July 23, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT’S commitment to underwrite hundreds of thousands of mortgages is “like a drug” that will artificially inflate house prices, critics have warned. George Osborne yesterday confirmed details of the next stage of his Help to Buy scheme, which will guarantee £130bn worth of mortgages from January 2014. Buyers will need a deposit of just [...]
Amazon ends free delivery for orders of less than £10 July 23, 2013 ONLINE shopping giant Amazon yesterday scrapped free delivery on many orders worth less than £10, in a sign that the retailer may finally be attempting to improve profitability. The change, which was announced with immediate effect, means thousands of small items will no longer be accessible for supersaver delivery, which takes up to five days [...]
Financial markets will face unbearable pressure when rates rise July 23, 2013 COULD the financial markets be about to have a heart attack? The reason I ask is a terrifying little document that has just landed on my desk. Entitled tellingly Capital Markets – the Arteries are Clogging and published by Redburn, the stockbroker, it highlights cogently a little-understood feature of the post-crisis economy. Liquidity, the lifeblood [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 24 July 2013 July 23, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Ex-HSBC banker in frame for RBS job Mark McCombe, a veteran banker with 20 years experience at HSBC, has emerged as the leading external candidate to be the next chief executive of RBS according to people close to the process. Mr McCombe, a Briton who has spent the past year running the Asian [...]
Bottom Line: Opportunity for Prime to shine July 23, 2013 IT’S starting to look like Amazon might actually begin consistently making money one day soon. Having pursued an aggressive – and loss-making – growth strategy since it was founded in 1995, CEO Jeff Bezos and his team are increasingly looking for ways to convert user numbers into real cash. As Amazon told customers yesterday it was [...]
Low tax boosts investment and jobs in the UK July 23, 2013 INVESTMENT from overseas jumped in 2012, official figures showed today, with business groups praising the UK’s falling corporate tax rate for stimulating the flow of cash. Foreign direct investment (FDI) produced 1,559 projects in 2012-13, UK Trade and Investment said, up 11 per cent on the year. New jobs from the investment increased 12 per [...]
Apple surprises with strong rise in iPhone sales July 23, 2013 SALES of Apple’s iPads fell more than expected in the third quarter, the US tech giant revealed last night, but strong iPhone sales surprised the market and sent shares up in after hours trading. And the firm hinted at new product announcements in the autumn, widely expected to include another update to the iPhone. The business [...]
Pressure rises on banks as they agree to publish local loan data July 23, 2013 BRITAIN’S biggest banks will face even more public pressure and scrutiny as they publish detailed lending figures every quarter starting next year, the Treasury will announce today. The seven largest lenders will make public their business, mortgage and unsecured consumer lending figures, listed by postcode. It is part of a long drive to put pressure [...]
Wall Street titan KKR loses CEO of Financial Holdings subsidiary July 23, 2013 US PRIVATE equity giant KKR yesterday lost one of its top lieutenants after specialty finance boss Bill Sonneborn announced his retirement at the age of 43. Sonneborn, a Goldman Sachs M&A alumni, heads KKR’s asset management unit and is also chief executive of its publicly listed subsidiary KKR Financial Holdings (KFN), which invests in corporate [...]
