Financial news

• EU referendum: Rolls-Royce warns its staff of Brexit risks

  02-03-2016 23:00
  
  Employees receive letters from BMW-owned firm warning that EU exit could raise costs and jeopardise trade The chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, which is owned by BMW, has written to all its workers in Britain to warn that exit from the European Union would drive up costs and prices and could affect the company’s “employment base”.The letter, leaked to the Guardian, is one of six sent by the bosses of each of BMW’s British companies, including MINI, to their staff
  
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• Box-office flops weigh on Peppa Pig owner

  02-03-2016 22:59
  
  Entertainment One shares slide 14% after poor performance of recent titles, including Steve Jobs biopic, and fewer releasesThe disappointing box-office performance of some recent films, including the Steve Jobs biopic, has hit the distributor Entertainment One hard, sending its shares tumbling.The Canadian distribution and production company, which owns the Peppa Pig TV franchise, said film sales slid 14% in the nine months to 31 December. Box-office takings fell by almost a quarter to $174m (&p
  
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• BHP Billiton reaches $1.55bn settlement with Brazil over dam collapse

  02-03-2016 22:46
  
  Anglo-Australian mining giant and Brazilian company Vale reach agreement to fund compensation over Samarco dam disaster that killed 17 people BHP Billiton has agreed to a $1.55bn settlement with Brazilian authorities over the Samarco dam disaster.The Anglo-Australian mining giant and its joint venture partner Vale say they have set up a fund worth 4.4bn Brazilian reals to be distributed through 2018. Continue reading...
  
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• Football player Adam Johnson facing jail after child sex conviction

  02-03-2016 22:44
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - English football player Adam Johnson, who was sacked by Premier League club Sunderland last month, was facing jail after being found guilty on Wednesday of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl.
  
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• Britain puts green bank up for sale

  02-03-2016 22:34
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday will set in motion a process to sell off its Green Investment Bank that invests in renewable energy projects, with a potential total price tag of around 4 billion pounds.
  
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• Green Investment Bank could be snapped up by foreign buyers

  02-03-2016 22:30
  
  Institution set up to power UK’s green energy revolution could switch to funding more lucrative schemes abroad, say criticsA financial institution set up by government to accelerate Britain’s green power revolution could end up being sold to private equity firms and fund wind farms in Germany.The Green Investment Bank, hailed as a world first for the UK when it was set up, is expected to bring in more than £4bn for the Treasury when it is privatised, probably by the end of this
  
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• Former Chesapeake Energy CEO dies in single-car crash day after indictment

  02-03-2016 21:43
  
  The Justice Department accused Aubrey McClendon of rigging bids for oil and gas land leases, the first executive to be charged in investigation into price fixingFormer Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon died in a car accident in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, one day after he was indicted on charges of conspiring to rig bids to buy oil and natural gas leases.Police said 56-year-old McClendon was the only occupant in the SUV, which hit a concrete bridge pillar shortly after 9am, and that it is t
  
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• ValueAct revs Rolls-Royce's engines but there are reasons to worry

  02-03-2016 21:03
  
  The activist investor is making all the right noises but does it have a break-up in mind?Please don’t call them financial barbarians, break-up merchants or short-termists out to make a quick buck before hot-footing it back to California. ValueAct, the US hedge fund being ushered into Rolls-Royce’s boardroom, would like you to know that it is the cooperative sort of activist investor, the type that doesn’t quarrel in public and is full of helpful ideas delivered in a spirit of p
  
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• Nigerians given go-ahead to sue Shell in UK court over oil spills

  02-03-2016 20:39
  
  Tens of thousands of fishermen and farmers from Niger delta region allege decades of uncleaned spills have polluted areaTens of thousands of fishermen and farmers have been given permission to sue the energy giant Shell in a British court for oil spills in two further areas of the Niger delta. The action brought by London lawyers Leigh Day on behalf of the Ogale and Bille communities alleges that decades of uncleaned oil spills have polluted fishing waters and contaminated farming land. Continue
  
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• Three reasons Australia's economy is so resilient – shopping, housing and, yes, mining

  02-03-2016 20:00
  
  Despite the end of the boom, resources is still the most important sector, ably supported by building houses and buying things to put in themThe early signs for the GDP figures were not good – capital expenditure was weak and the outlook terrible, and on Tuesday the latest balance of payments figures showed that net exports would contribute nothing to GDP growth in the December quarter.But then the figures came out on Wednesday showing that in seasonally adjusted terms the economy grew by
  
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• Tax cuts work - which is why the Tories need to give us more of them

  02-03-2016 19:49 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Lower taxes on labour and capital make it easier for firms to attract the talented people and investment they need to grow
  
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• Sports Direct chairman defies calls to quit

  02-03-2016 19:35
  
  Keith Hellawell downplays City concerns over corporate governance and vows to stay at helm of beleaguered company Keith Hellawell has vowed to continue as chairman of Sports Direct in a snub to shareholders and campaigners calling for his head after the retailer’s relegation from the FTSE 100.
  In an interview with the Guardian, the former chief constable suggested the retailer’s difficulties with the City were largely cosmetic, despite concerns over the group’s trading and its
  
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• EU cities will pounce on London business in event of Brexit - Hammond

  02-03-2016 19:35
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Rival European financial centres are already looking at how to take business from London if Britain votes to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Wednesday.
  
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• Market rally fizzles out as US oil stocks jump - as it happened

  02-03-2016 18:58
  
  All the day’s economic and financial news, as markets suffer another volatile dayUS weekly crude inventories rise by more than expected US jobs beat forecastsLondon stock market jumped, but then fell backJapan’s market surged 4% overnight
  Moody’s threatens to downgrade China - shares rally! 5.58pm GMTThe rally of recent days seemed set to continue after a strong performance from Asian markets, but as the day wore on it ran out of steam. A volatile oil price did not help. Early
  
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• Older women are invisible in the workplace. What are we meant to do until the age of 67? | Suzanne Moore

  02-03-2016 18:56
  
  It was great to see Jenny Beavan troll the Oscars ego-fest, but she is an exception. Most women are sent out to pasture long before their ever-retreating pension arrives
  The Oscars have very little to do with film, and a lot to do with advertising. Women are walking billboards for designers, trussed up in dresses that they will be called out on if they doesn’t pass muster. Thank God beauty pageants are a thing of the past.Halle-blooming-lujah, then, for Jenny Beavan, stomping up to ge
  
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• ITV shares slide on disappointing viewing figures

  02-03-2016 18:38
  
  Broadcaster’s shares among worst performers on FTSE 100 despite 18% rise in pre-tax profit and special dividend boostShares in ITV were among the worst performers on the FTSE 100, despite rising profits, a special dividend and ever-present speculation of buyers waiting in the wings.Shareholders were handed a one-off windfall of 10p a share, or £400m overall, on top of the full-year dividend of 6p, itself a 28% increase on last year’s payout. Continue reading...
  
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• Quiz: How much should you be panicking about your finances?

  02-03-2016 18:18 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  A light-hearted quiz about the gaping maw of financial misery that perpetually threatens to devour us all
  
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• UPDATE 1-D. Boerse CEO touts benefits of LSE merger, Berlin cool

  02-03-2016 18:00
  
  * Kengeter aware of need to court Berlin, Brussels-source (Adds comments from Berlin lawmakers)
  
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• GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks gain as strong data cools slowdown fears; oil rises

  02-03-2016 17:57
  
  * Strong U.S. jobs data pushes bond yields up, supports dollar (Updates with U.S. markets, changes dateline, previous LONDON)
  
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• Seven years of low interest rates have 'cost savers up to £160bn'

  02-03-2016 17:47
  
  Loose monetary policy has ‘annihilated’ returns on cash, but mortgage borrowers and investors have benefitedSeven years of quantitative easing (QE) and record low interest rates have cost savers an estimated £160bn, but supported strong increases in the prices of property, stocks and bonds. Analysis by financial firm Hargreaves Lansdown suggests that up to £106bn is being held in accounts paying no interest, as loose monetary policy has “annihilated” returns o
  
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• UPDATE 1-Eurobank swings to loss in fourth quarter

  02-03-2016 17:42
  
  * Continues bad-debt provisioning (Adds CEO comment, details)
  
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• Sports Authority declares bankruptcy and outlines plan to close 140 stores

  02-03-2016 17:42
  
  The CEO says the company needs fewer brick-and-mortar locations as consumers shift to online shoppingSports Authority is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The retailer said on Wednesday that it plans to close or sell about 140 stores and two distribution centers, in Denver and Chicago.Continue reading...
  
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• Workers need to put 15% of income into pension, report says

  02-03-2016 17:40
  
  Saving more than three times the present average is necessary to have enough cash in retirement, review for Labour party findsWorkers need to put 15% of their earnings into a pension pot, according to a review for the Labour party, which has warned about a return to working until you drop.The report, following a two-year study, said a national retirement savings target of 15% of lifetime earnings, more than three times the current typical amount, should be adopted “to avoid future pensione
  
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• No breakup at Rolls despite activist investor on board, says chairman

  02-03-2016 17:40
  
  Ian Davis says ValueAct, whose COO has joined Rolls-Royce board, has not pushed for breakup of engineering divisionsThe chairman of Rolls-Royce has insisted the engineering group will not be broken up despite appointing the chief operating officer of ValueAct, the activist US investor, to its board.Rolls has named Bradley Singer as a non-executive director and a member of its science and technology committee, giving him a front row seat from which to see the company’s latest innovations. C
  
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• UPDATE 1-France to launch Nice, Lyon airport privatisations next week - source

  02-03-2016 17:28
  
  PARIS, March 2 (Reuters) - France will kick off the sale of its 60 percent stakes in the Lyon-Saint-Exupery and Nice Cote d'Azur airports early next week with the release of the privatisation tender rules, an Economy Ministry source said on Wednesday.
  
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• Could a bitcoin-style monetary system spell the end for Britain's banks?

  02-03-2016 17:25
  
  Deputy BoE governor warns digital-style currencies could deny commercial banks crucial deposits and hinder their ability to lend moneyThe Bank of England (BoE) could become the hub of a bitcoin-style digital currency that sidelines high-street banks and cuts the costs of financial transactions, according to a senior executive at the UK central bank.Ben Broadbent, BoE deputy governor, said a new system of holding cash in a banking version of the cloud, with encrypted keys to protect accounts, wou
  
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• Tackling youth unemployment in Kenya through public-private collaboration

  02-03-2016 17:16
  
  80% of unemployed Kenyans are below 35 years years old. Leaders from business, education and government must step up to address this
  To tackle Kenya’s high youth unemployment, the private sector, academia and government must work together to develop innovative business models, industry-relevant curricula and enabling national policies. This was the key message from Building Future Markets, a day-long event that brought together leaders from business, education and government to explore the
  
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• Saudi Arabia asks banks to discuss major loan -sources

  02-03-2016 17:13
  
  DUBAI, March 2 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's government has asked banks to discuss providing it with a major international loan that could total around $10 billion, sources aware of the matter said on Wednesday.
  
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• UPDATE 2-S.African finance minister to miss police deadline in spy unit case

  02-03-2016 17:10
  
  JOHANNESBURG, March 2 (Reuters) - South Africa's finance minister will miss a Wednesday deadline set by police to answer questions on his role in the setting up of a spy unit at the revenue service because he was busy preparing the country's budget, his lawyers said.
  
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• Wizz Air reduces gender gap by appointing two high-ranking women

  02-03-2016 17:03
  
  Equality report last year had labelled the airline as having the most male-dominated boardroom among FTSE 250 companiesNo-frills airline Wizz Air is no longer the FTSE firm with the fewest women in senior roles after recruiting two in the space of a week. Related: 'Barrier bosses' twice as likely to be anti-gender equality than public, finds studyContinue reading...
  
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• U.S.-based junk-bond mutual funds net first cash since November -ICI

  02-03-2016 16:57
  
  By Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - Mutual fund investors charged back into the riskiest debt in the latest week, according to data released Wednesday by the Investment Company Institute (ICI), delivering high-yield bond funds their first weekly inflows since Nov 4. Junk bond funds took in $1.4 billion during the latest week, according to ICI, ending a 15-week streak of outflows that swallowed $28.8 billion of the funds' cash and precipitated the December collapse of Third
  
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• Virgin Money attempts to ease anxiety over buy-to-let mortgages

  02-03-2016 16:54
  
  Bank says new 3% stamp duty on buy-to-let properties will not have material impact on its business after mortgages drive latest profit surgeVirgin Money has pushed back its expectations for a rise in UK interest rates by two years until 2018 and begun a feasibility study on launching current accounts.As the bank reported a rise in profits for its first full year as a stock-market-listed company, the chief executive, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, also attempted to quell anxiety about its exposure to buy-to-
  
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• European shares edge up led by banks; Luxottica down

  02-03-2016 16:53
  
  * Luxottica, ITV down after earning updates (Updates prices)
  
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• UPDATE 3-U.S. retailer Sports Authority files for bankruptcy

  02-03-2016 16:48
  
  * To close or sell up to 200 stores, two distribution centers
  
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• RPT-Britain moves closer to Green Investment Bank sale - sources

  02-03-2016 16:27
  
  LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Britain will take a step closer this week to a planned privatisation of its Green Investment Bank, and could sell the whole business, sources familiar with the situation said.
  
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• UPDATE 1-Euro zone, IMF split over how much Greece needs to reform

  02-03-2016 16:16
  
  * IMF, euro zone disagree on Greek growth, primary surplus outlook Athens needs more pension reform or better euro zone debt relief
  
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• U.S. oil & Gas liquidity stress at worst-ever level- Moody's

  02-03-2016 16:14
  
  March 2 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas companies, struggling with a steep fall in global crude prices, faced the worst-ever conditions to get cash to run their businesses, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service.
  
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• Britain moves closer to Green Investment Bank sale - sources

  02-03-2016 15:38
  
  LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Britain will take a step closer this week to a planned privatisation of its Green Investment Bank, and could sell the whole business, sources familiar with the situation said.
  
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• UPDATE 2-Deutsche Bank CEO aims for universal bank with German roots

  02-03-2016 15:37
  
  * Open airing of problems seen as demoralising (Releads, adds details on regulatory problems, quotes on strategy)
  
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• Blue-chip corporate bond yields join sub-zero club as ECB looms

  02-03-2016 15:34
  
  LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - The number of bonds issued by blue-chip firms in Europe with yields below zero is rising, after a similar move in government bond yields, as the ECB gears up to push its deposit rate further into negative territory.
  
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• Hammond says EU cities will pounce on London business in event of Brexit

  02-03-2016 15:30
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Rival European financial centres are already looking at how to take business from London if Britain votes to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Wednesday.
  
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• EU cities will pounce on London business in event of Brexit -minister

  02-03-2016 15:15
  
  LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Rival European financial centres are already looking at how to take business from London if Britain votes to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Wednesday.
  
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• UPDATE 1-Heta bond buy-back will be close call says Austrian official

  02-03-2016 14:50
  
  VIENNA, March 2 (Reuters) - Creditors of "bad bank" Heta Asset Resolution who have insisted their bonds must be bought back at face value said on Wednesday they will examine an Austrian proposal that would mean more compensation.
  
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• Euro zone, IMF split over how much Greece needs to reform

  02-03-2016 14:46
  
  * IMF, euro zone disagree on Greek growth, primary surplus outlook Athens needs more pension reform or better euro zone debt relief
  
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• Germany to cooperate with U.S. on IT standards to reboot industry

  02-03-2016 14:36
  
  BERLIN, March 2 (Reuters) - Germany has agreed to work with the United States to find common standards to connect to the Internet as part of its plan to modernise its small and mid-sized businesses for the digital age and safeguard its industrial competitiveness.
  
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• Rolls-Royce gives board seat to largest shareholder ValueAct

  02-03-2016 13:30
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Rolls-Royce has appointed a partner from its largest shareholder ValueAct Capital to its board after the U.S. activist investor built up a stake in the British engineer following a string of profit warnings last year.
  
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• Standard Life fund arm concerned by governance at VW, Shell

  02-03-2016 13:25
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - The investment arm of British insurer Standard life said on Wednesday it would escalate its engagement with management at Volkswagen and Royal Dutch Shell, citing governance concerns.
  
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• Islamic State 'earning millions by playing the stock market'

  02-03-2016 13:01 via telegraph.feedsportal.com
  
  Group using cash looted from banks in Mosul to speculate on international currency markets
  
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• Indian solar 'ripe' for UK investment and financial expertise - Solar Power Portal

  02-03-2016 12:50
  Solar Power Portal
  Indian solar 'ripe' for UK investment and financial expertise
  Solar Power Portal
  Amarjit Singh head of India Business Group (IBG) discusses opportunties for foreign investment in Indian solar. Twitter: Amarjit Singh. The rapid development of the solar energy sector in India represents a huge opportunity for UK-based businesses and ...
  

• BRIEF-UK financial watchdog says bans former Deutsche Bank trader Michael ... - Reuters

  02-03-2016 11:11
  BRIEF-UK financial watchdog says bans former Deutsche Bank trader Michael ...
  Reuters
  March 2 Deutsche Bank Ag. * UK financial watchdog says bans former Deutsche bank trader Michael Ross Curtler after U.S. Libor conviction Further company coverage: (Reporting By Kirstin Ridley). Sponsored LinksSponsored Links · Promoted ...
  

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