Manufacturing orders fall at fastest pace in three years as Brexit uncertainty bites October 23, 2018 British manufacturing orders fell at the fastest pace since 2015 in the third quarter as uncertainty over a Brexit deal continued, according to the latest statistics from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The organisation said the “sobering” set of figures required “immediate action at home and abroad” as it revealed that a net 6 [...]
St James’s Place shares slump despite £100bn funds under management October 23, 2018 Shares in wealth manager St James's Place slumped this morning despite the revelation that the company had hit a record breaking £100bn in funds under management. The firm announced that assets under management rose to £100.6bn, up 11 per cent since the beginning of the year, however shares slipped 4.6 per cent on news of slower quarterly growth. [...]
Serious Fraud Office presses for criminal charges to be reinstated against Barclays October 22, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is pressing to get criminal charges reinstated against Barclays related to its capital raising arrangements at the height of the financial crisis. The high street bank and four former executives were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and the provision of unlawful financial assistance in 2017, connected to a deal [...]
British household savings declined in October October 22, 2018 British household savings declined this month as salary growth slowed to the weakest rate in eight months, according to a survey of household finances. The IHS Markit Household Finance Index declined to 45.1 in October from 45.7 the previous month, signalling increased pessimism by UK households towards their financial situations. Read more: Goldman Sachs enters British savings [...]
Netflix issues $2bn in bonds to fund original content October 22, 2018 Netflix plans to issue $2bn (£1.5bn) in bonds in a bid to fund its drive towards producing more original content, the company announced today. The streaming service will use the proceeds of the dollar and euro dominated junk bonds for general corporate purposes including content acquisitions and production and development. Read more: Subscribers have surged, but are we nearing ‘peak Netflix’? Netflix [...]
Neptune Energy hires former Louis Dreyfus CFO October 22, 2018 Gas production company Neptune Energy has hired former Louis Dreyfus head of finance Armand Lumens. Lumens, who will join as chief financial officer in December, worked at Shell before moving to agricultural goods company Louis Dreyfus in 2016. Last month the company announced Lumens was stepping down for personal reasons, at the same time as chief executive [...]
Interactive Investor set to pay £40m for Alliance Trust Savings October 22, 2018 Interactive Investor, the UK's second largest investment platform, has bought rival Alliance Trust Savings in a £40m deal. After the sale the combined business will have £35bn assets under management and the deal includes the sale of Alliance Trust's headquarters in Dundee. Read more: Investment platform AJ Bell boosts customers ahead of float London-based Interactive Investor is majority [...]
RBS set to reveal third quarter dividend policy after making first payment following financial crisis October 21, 2018 Investors in the Royal Bank of Scotland will be eager find out whether the bank will announce another dividend this week, as UK lenders reveal their third quarter results. The bank, which last year returned to profit for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, recently paid its first dividend in 10 years. Read [...]
Theresa May ‘drinking in last chance saloon’ as MPs demand she appears in front of influential 1922 committee October 21, 2018 Theresa May is facing a fight for her leadership as she was warned she is "drinking in the last chance saloon" and MPs lashed out at the the Prime Minister over her Brexit negotiations. Conservative MPs have demanded May appears before the 1922 committee on Wednesday night to be grilled on Brexit and the state of the Government, according to [...]
Britain should only allow extended Brexit transition to prevent Irish backstop, says Brexit secretary Dominic Raab October 21, 2018 Brexit minister Dominic Raab has said the UK should reject an extended transition period unless the EU abandons its demand for an Irish backstop. Theresa May's suggestion that the UK could remain attached to the European Union after December 2020 could only be an "alternative" to the backstop suggestion, Raab wrote in the Telegraph. Read [...]