Centrica's new boss vows to kick its spread betting habit
Under Iain Conn, the owner of British Gas is shifting away from an integrated approach and sticking to what it knows best in the energy market Under its last chief executive, Centrica told its shareholders for half a decade that it was absolutely essential that the company should explore for, and produce, more oil and […]
Bank of England: new MPC member faces scrutiny from Treasury MPs
Select committee will ask Gertjan Vlieghe to prove independence from the Brevan Howard hedge fund, where is he is a partner The Treasury select committee is preparing to challenge newly appointed member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, Gertjan Vlieghe, to prove his independence from the hedge fund Brevan Howard, where he is […]
US economic growth accelerates in second quarter as spending picks up
The Fed described the economy as expanding ‘moderately’ while upgrading its view of the labor market, pointing the way to an interest rate hike The US economy accelerated in the second quarter, further raising the prospect that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates – which have been held near zero since the financial crisis […]
US, Irish, Spanish economies power ahead with faster GDP growth – as it happened
US economy bounces back in second quarter Spanish economy grows at fastest pace since 2007 Irish economy returns to pre-crisis ‘Celtic Tiger’ levels Greek prime minister calls for Syriza referendum on Sunday but favours party congress in September European stock markets buoyed by higher corporate profits Energy giants Shell and Centrica to slash jobs in […]
Do we still need boycotts when you can send an angry tweet?
Ten years ago, people could join a boycott and send an angry letter to a company, now they could just take to social media with an angry or ironic hashtag Four years after political reforms saw campaigners lift calls to boycott companies operating in Burma, a new ranking of the largest 100 Burmese firms shows […]
Santander's UK spin-off delayed
Profits at British arm rise 67% but long-mooted flotation not expected in the next two years, says CEO The spin-off of Spanish bank Santander’s UK arm has been pushed back for a number of years, the CEO of the British operation has revealed. Nathan Bostock said on Thursday he did not expect the flotation of […]
Shell cuts 6,500 jobs as oil price slump continues
Chief executive Ben van Beurden says group will press ahead with $30bn asset sales and $3bn spending cuts as second quarter profits fall 35% Shell sees no quick end to the slump in oil prices and plans to further slash annual spending, sell off assets and bring the total number of job cuts to 6,500 […]
Spanish economy back to pre-crisis growth levels
Low inflation and falling unemployment mean Spain is starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, economy minister says Spain’s economy has recorded the strongest growth since 2007, before the global financial crisis plunged the country into recession. Economic growth was 1% in the second quarter of the year, up from 0.9% in […]
British Gas owner Centrica cuts thousands of jobs
Scaling back of energy company’s business comes despite a doubling in profits at residential power supply business Centrica is to cut 6,000 jobs, slash gas exploration and sell off its wind farms in a dramatic restructuring ordered by its new boss and former BP executive, Iain Conn. The move comes despite a doubling in profits […]
BT television boosted by sports channel screening Uefa Champions League
In first-quarter results BT says TV section is at two-year high, with new channel BT Sport Europe set to go live on Saturday The impending arrival of a new sports channel featuring Uefa Champions League and Europa League games has boosted BT’s television business. The company said its TV section is at a two-year high […]