Jes Staley, Group CEO at Barclays (LON:BARC) has been fined a combined £642,000 by the FCA and PRA for attempting to identify an anonymous whistle-blower in 2016. Two letters had been sent to the Bank’s board raising concerns about a senior colleague and Mr Staley was judged to have acted in breach of regulations in…
A busy week of buyouts has finished with the management at ZPG (LON:ZPG), formerly known as Zoopla Property Group, recommending an offer from private equity outfit Silver Lake. An all-cash bid of £2.2 billion has been made by the US-based technology specialist for ZPG, which owns not only the eponymous property platform but also PrimeLocation…
Emmanuel Macron and the Goblet of Fire French President Emmanuel Macron is a dynamic young wizard. But the fundamental reform of France may be beyond even his magical powers. One year in He established a centrist political movement out of nothing (La République En Marche or REM) and was elected Head of State on its ticket…
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee has kept interest rates stable at 0.5% for another month. Governor Mark Carney said that weak first quarter output statistics had been a key factor in the decision, but was confident that positive momentum would reassert itself in time. However, the Bank cut its GDP growth forecasts for…
Morrisons (LON:MRW) beat tough retail industry conditions and analyst forecasts to deliver like-for-like non-fuel sales growth of 3.6% during the 13 weeks to 6th May. However, a major contributor to this improvement was a considerable strengthening of the group’s wholesale arm through a new programme supplying McColl’s outlets. Transaction numbers in the retail operation grew…
Recent data from the Halifax House Price Index showed that house prices in the UK declined by 3.1% in April. This is the largest monthly fall since 2010 and shows that uncertainty remains high for the property sector. However, this could present an opportunity for long-term investors to buy while property-focused stocks such as housebuilders…
FTSE 100 tobacco giant Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) beat forecasts as it announced its first-half results this morning. While net revenues fell by 5% to £3.5 billion, the company outperformed the wider industry, and volumes in its growth brands were up by 6.3%. Total revenues fell by just 0.1%, partly due to investments in alternative products…
The UK high street has failed to bounce back strongly in April after poor weather kept consumers at home in March. According to the latest British Retail Consortium figures, like-for-like sales are down by 4.2% relative to April last year. Some of this can be linked to the timing of Easter and the volatile weather…
It’s late April in LA, it’s raining, and it’s time for the annual Milken Institute jamboree. Anthony Chow and I are here, having been relieved of a large sum in order to attend. As with most conferences, the true value is in the networking effect, not so much in what is said at the various…
UK house prices posted their largest monthly fall in eight years during April, according to Halifax’s House Price Index. While prices were up by 2.2% year-on-year, they fell by 3.1% relative to March and 0.1% against the previous quarter. To a degree, this drop could represent increased pricing volatility in the monthly measure as sales…
