Earnings jump for Provident July 23, 2013 SUB-PRIME lender Provident Financial lifted first half pre-tax profit by seven per cent after strong growth at credit card provider Vanquis Bank. The firm, which targets the 10m people in Britain likely to be refused credit by the main lenders, made a pre-tax profit before one-offs of £76.5m in the first half of 2013. But [...]
Petropavlovsk cuts jobs July 23, 2013 FTSE 250-listed miner Petropavlovsk yesterday said it had cut 720 jobs, reduced its office space and cancelled management bonuses, as it unveiled a six per cent increase in half-year gold production, with gold sales up four per cent. The firm is aiming to reduce its net debt and is targeting a nine to 12 per [...]
Premier Oil plugs well July 23, 2013 FTSE 250-listed Premier Oil yesterday said that it has plugged and abandoned a Vietnamese well despite discovering gas, after finding indications of overpressure which can be dangerous to drill in. “[It] was a frontier exploration well and was the first to test the prospectivity of the Oligocene section in the Phu Khanh Basin [in Vietnam],” [...]
City Moves for 24 July 2013 | Who’s switching jobs July 23, 2013 Marsh Jane Barker has been appointed chairman at the insurance company. She is currently chief executive of Equitas, a position she has held for six years. She was previously chief operating officer at the London Stock Exchange. PwC The professional services company has announced the appointment of Umang Paw as a partner, and head of [...]
Best of the Brokers for 24 July 2013 July 23, 2013 LADBROKES Morgan Stanley has upgraded its rating for bookmaker Ladbrokes from “underweight” to “equal weight” to reflect the ongoing strength in the UK online market, offset by modest reductions in retail. It has raised its target price from 165p to 215p. WH SMITH Kate Swann may have stepped down as chief executive of WH Smith [...]
London report: FTSE nudges down despite China boost for mining sector July 23, 2013 THE FTSE finished off seven-week highs yesterday, with China’s reassurance on growth lifting miners but failing to provide enough momentum for the broad index to overcome technical resistance. Basic materials, the third-biggest sector in the FTSE 100 and the market’s clear laggard this year, outperformed after the Chinese premier made a commitment to maintain growth [...]
New York report: S&P slips from its record high July 23, 2013 THE S&P 500 snapped a four-day winning streak last night and pulled back from Monday’s record closing high, while healthy earnings from United Technologies gave the Dow a slight lift. Earnings as a whole, though, were lukewarm and held back the broader market. Technology shares weighed on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Yet Apple’s [...]
How an ageing Britain can grow old and avoid a looming longevity crisis July 23, 2013 BRITAIN’s future is getting greyer. In its most recent fiscal sustainability report, the Office of Budget Responsibility recognised that we are living longer and need more care. But we haven’t saved enough. The state won’t be able to keep us, and the dependency ratio will only worsen as fewer workers struggle to fund more pensioners. [...]
Against the Grain: Detroit – like Europe – will have to learn that defaults are never a free lunch July 23, 2013 POTENTIAL defaults in Europe have reignited fears that the Eurozone crisis could flare up again. In Portugal, the ruling coalition parties and the main opposition Socialists have been unable to agree on a EU-led bailout plan after days of talks. Yields on the country’s ten-year bonds approached 7 per cent, compared to just 1.5 per [...]
Geeks and hackers are transforming healthcare and saving our economy July 23, 2013 THE future of healthcare is taking shape. But it’s not being invented in drug company labs or planned by the NHS. Amateurs, obsessives and hackers are leading the charge. It’s a movement that will help us live longer – and could save the economy. It’s all happening through a combination of new gadgets, the power [...]
