(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) The Times
Strike three and they’re out as issues profit warning: More than £1 billion was wiped off the stock market value of as investors rushed for the exit and left the oilfield services company counting the cost of its third profit warning in a year.
’s takeover plan leaves facing a dilemma: faces a potential conflict of interest in the wake of ’s surprise £5.4 billion approach to buy Friends Life.
Germans hand Eurozone timely confidence boost: German business confidence returned to positive territory after six months of decline to give a much-needed fillip to the fragile Eurozone.
Wind farm magnate blames Tories as he halts expansion: Britain’s wealthiest wind farm entrepreneur is giving up trying to win planning permission for more turbines in England after claiming that the Conservatives have made it too difficult.
BHP digs deeper to reveal more savings: heaped another US$500 million on to its savings target as it began the sales pitch for its US$15 billion spin-off plan.The Independent
Russia losing US$140 billion a year as sanctions and falling oil prices hit Moscow: Russia’s finance minister has warned the country is facing losses of up to US$140 billion (£89 billion) a year as a result of plunging oil prices and Western sanctions.
Spain and Italy smile as QE talk eases borrowing costs: Fever-pitch speculation over a full-scale money-printing operation in the Eurozone to shore up growth pushed the borrowing costs of Spain and Italy to all-time lows.
Mobile firms fight to woo BT in £10 billion takeover talks: BT is in talks to buy either O2 or EE in the second dramatic move by Britain’s biggest telecoms company in as many years after its successful entry into pay-TV with BT Sport.
Cable’s guru scorns RBS ‘mockery’ of small firms: The former government adviser who claimed in controversial report that forced viable businesses to the wall has launched a fresh broadside at the bank after it was forced to issue an apology to the Treasury Select Committee over misleading evidence given by two executives.The Daily Telegraph
UK’s blackout prevention plans in doubt after back-up power plant fails: Britain’s plans to keep the lights on this winter have been thrown into fresh doubt after a power plant supposed to provide back-up electricity supplies failed during testing.
to probe Bank payment systems collapse: The Bank of England has announced that big-four auditor will conduct the review into the glitch that saw UK payment systems go down for 10 hours last month.
Saudi Arabia holds key to oil price as OPEC meeting nears: Saudi Arabia the world’s biggest exporter of oil holds the key to deciding whether the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will cut production levels at its critical meeting this week as oil prices continued to come under pressure on Monday.
hit by rumours East Coast will go to Eurostar: Shares in hit the buffers on Monday falling 10.5% at one stage amid rumours that it may have lost out on a contract to run the prestigious East Coast Main Line to two companies including Eurostar which are majority owned by France’s state railway.
ONS data not enough to understand ‘animal spirits’ in UK economy says Bank of England rate setter: Official economic statistics may not be the best guide to the UK economy a senior Bank of England official has warned.
Smith & Nephew soars on rumours of Stryker interest: Shares in Smith & Nephew spiked by almost 10% on Monday afternoon following reports that its US rival Stryker is considering returning with a £10 billion takeover bid.
Friends Life suspends share buyback amid £5 billion deal talks: Friends Life has suspended a £317 million share buyback programme as it negotiates the finer points of a proposed £5 billion tie-up with rival .
Supermarket price war now claiming food producers as victims: Frenzied cost-cutting among UK supermarkets has spurred a sharp rise in insolvency among food producers.
Neil Woodford to launch new fund: Neil Woodford who is often regarded as Britain’s best fund manager will launch a new fund next year that will buy mainly biotechnology companies that are not listed on the stock exchange.
Coca-Cola to release expensive milk that will ‘rain money’: Coca-Cola is to release its own brand of milk that will become so popular it will “rain money” the drinks giant has said.
German bond yields to trump Japan as ECB battles deflation: German bond yields are to fall below Japanese levels and plumb depths never seen before in history as Europe becomes the epicentre of global deflationary forces according to new forecast from the .The Questor Column: Black hole in mining sector profits leads to ‘vanishing’ returns. The speed and the depth of the fall in commodity prices has surprised everyone in the intervening period. Questor Says “Sell”.The Guardian
RBS bonuses under fire as restructuring group executives’ testimony questioned: Bonuses handed out to senior bosses at are facing renewed scrutiny after the chairman of the bailed-out bank apologised for inaccuracies in evidence given to MPs about its restructuring division.
Juncker on defensive in censure motion over Luxembourg tax schemes: Jean-Claude Juncker’s fitness to head the EU’s executive for the next five years came under lacerating attack in the European parliament on Monday evening with British French and Italian far-right and populist leaders denouncing his record in facilitating massive corporate tax avoidance when governing Luxembourg for almost two decades.
High court judges orders Goldman Sachs to disclose Libya profits: A high court judge has ordered Goldman Sachs to reveal how much profit it made on a deal that lost Libya’s government more than US$1 billion when financial bets turned sour.
Confidence levels slip in CBI survey of services sector: A dip in confidence across the services sector will limit growth heading into the New Year according to a wide ranging business survey.
boss’s £25 million pay deal criticised by shareholder group: One of the City’s most influential shareholder groups has issued a warning about a £25 million pay deal for the new boss of .
Tea sales at Fortnum & Mason brew profits surge: Fortnum & Mason has reported a surge in profits buoyed by new outlets and demand for its hampers and caddies of loose-leaf tea.Daily Mail
George Osborne’s Patent Box tax break policy is watered down after complaints by Germany: One of George Osborne’s flagship policies is set to be reformed in next week’s Autumn Statement following the resolution of a protracted spat with Germany over the controversial tax break.
Struggling Quindell could be broken up after ballooning under leadership of Rob Terry: Shares in scandal-strewn legal software group Quindell rose following reports it could be broken up.
Storage firm Lok’nStore sells site in Reading for £2.9 million to fund new stores: Self storage firm Lok’nStore said it has sold a site in Reading to a housing developer for £2.9 million with further payments depending on the value of house sales achieved.
Pork and sausage supplier Cranswick shares soar 5% as it recovers lost business - but sales hit as supermarkets struggle: Shares in sausage maker Cranswick soared nearly 5% after it said it had recovered lost business despite posting a fall in half year sales in a tough supermarket trading environment.
Britain’s businesses more optimistic than overseas rivals as Eurozone woes see Germany and France sink into gloom: British businesses are more confident than their rivals in other major economies despite clouds gathering over the global economy according to a report.Daily Express
Lower petrol prices keep drivers ticking over: Falling petrol prices have sent consumer confidence bouncing back according to a key report.
Focusrite tuning up for £80 million float: A former Led Zeppelin soundman is bringing his music technology outfit to the AIM.The Scottish Herald
Whisky isle’s brewery taps into healthy export market: A small brewery based on one of Scotland’s most famous whisky producing islands has taken its first steps into export markets.
Thomas Cook growing even while Europe remains tough: Thomas Cook’s recovery push will reach another milestone on Wednesday when it reports an increase in earnings for the year to September 30.
The Scotsman
Buchanan Street rents highest outside London: Glasgow’s Buchanan Street has been named as the UK’s most expensive retail destination outside London.
Coutts UK to be ring-fenced from overseas sale: will categorically rule out a potential bid for the whole of Coutts its wealth management arm for affluent individuals from Italian domestic lender Intesa Sanpaolo.
Braveheart’s first deals under crowd-funding partnership: Investment Manager Braveheart has taken the wraps off the first four deals made as part of a tie-up with a crowd-funding website at the start of the year.City A.M.
Sky remains sceptical of quad play as rivals prepare for launch: Pay TV group Sky recently rebranded from remained unconvinced by the need for a mobile offering after its biggest rival BT looked poised to buy either EE or O2 in a £10 billion mobile deal.
Citi fined US$15 million for poor control of its analysts: Citi failed to monitor its analysts’ communications properly allowing the staff to indirectly participate in clients’ flotations a top US regulator said.
AIM withdrawal on the cards for : Merrill Lynch (BAML) looks set to withdraw its status as a nominated adviser (nomad) on AIM reports revealed.
Constellation aims for float: US healthcare services organisation Constellation announced its intention to float on Aim and raise a minimum of £10 million.
Brownfield land could make way for one million homes: England has enough brownfield land to build more than one million new homes with a quarter of it in public hands according to a leading property consultancy that urges councils to make sites cheaper for house builders to buy.
Investment Managers caught up in shopping centre frenzy: Demand from institutional investors for UK retail assets continued unabated after M&G and separately snapped up shopping centres in Kent and Durham.
Derwent buys Angel Square: stepped up its presence to the capital’s fast-growing tech sector after buying Angel Square in Islington for £75.03 million.
Amazon debuts pick-up service at Post Offices: Shoppers will soon be able to collect products ordered on Amazon at their local Post Office branch in a new deal announced by the online retail giant and the .
Wages set to rise at last as the number of vacancies outstrips volume of job seekers: Britain’s recovery has pulled so many unemployed workers into jobs that there are now more vacancies than job seekers for the first time since the financial crisis struck jobs website Adzuna said.
Deadline to Breadline is extended but L&G warns over effect of rise in rates: An average working-age family will be reliant on state benefits and friends and family alone for financial support within two weeks of losing their income once their savings run out a report reveals.