Britain's
top share index dropped on Friday, after
a strong quarter, as banks fell on renewed uncertainty over Deutsche
Bank's financial health and as a spate of broker downgrades hit
outsourcer Capita. The FTSE 100 was down 78.33 points, or 1.1
percent, at 6,841.09 by 0820 GMT, with financials taking 25 points
off the index.
John
Cryan, chief executive of Deutsche Bank, has emailed
the bank's 100,000 staff to reassure them that the bank's finances
are strong, stating that the bank's reserves and profits underlined
its strength. He told them the bank had become the object of "hefty
speculation" and that "new rumours" were causing the
share price to fall. Deutsche's shares hit new lows on Friday as
confidence in the bank continued to falter.
At no point in the last 20 years had Deutsche been as strong as it is
now, Mr Cryan insisted. Deutsche shares were down 5% at midday,
having fallen 9% earlier.
Spotify
is currently in advanced talks to purchase SoundCloud, the Financial
Times reports.
Both streaming services are
in talks ahead of Spotify’s IPO, and the streaming service has
already attracted 100 million users worldwide along with 40 million
subscribers. On the other hand, SoundCloud would compliment the
streaming giant and has built the company by allowing artists to
upload their music and share it with the world. The
deal would give Spotify another edge over rival Apple Music, which
recently reached 17 million subscribers of their own.
Some
of the country's biggest telephone and internet service providers
were hit by major increases in their business rates today, causing
their customers to have to face higher bills for these services.
Figures published this morning by the Valuation Office Agency show
the proposed new rates for thousands of businesses across the UK,
which will come into effect from April. One of the biggest increases
in rateable values is British Telecom, whose business rates bill for
England and Wales will jump from £149m to £714m next year, although
for technical reasons the company will only have to pay around half
of the final amount.
Nissan's
chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, has
warned that Brexit uncertainty and possible tariffs could damage
investment in the UK's biggest car factory. He
said that the firm would need "compensation" for tax
barriers that might result from Britain leaving the European Union.
Nissan's plant in Sunderland produces about a third of the UK's car
output. Nissan is due to
decide early next year on where to build its next Qashqai sport
utility vehicle.
Britain's
giant services sector grew strongly in July, according to official
data giving the clearest sign to date that the economy did not slump
immediately into a major slowdown after the country's vote in June to
leave the EU. The Office for National Statistics also said economic
growth was stronger than it previously believed
in the run-up to the June 23
referendum as consumers and businesses increased their spending. The
data may dissuade the Bank of England from following through on its
plan to cut interest rates again at its next meeting. However,
the economy still looks set to slow sharply next year when the full
impact of the referendum is likely to be felt.
The
Royal Bank of Scotland has announced that the brand will largely be
confined to Scotland, with the Natwest name replacing it in England
and Wales. The new ring-fenced bank will be called Natwest Holdings,
and will be comprised of its core NatWest, Coutts & Co, Ulster
Bank and Ulster Bank Ireland DAC brands. By
the end of 2018, RBS' Adam & Company unit, which houses its
Scottish private bank, will be renamed Royal Bank of Scotland Plc as
part of the changes.
British
Steel has already reached profitability, its executive chairman,
Roland Junck,
said on Thursday, as he criticised the previous management's running
of the company. On the hundredth day since its launch, the re-branded
manufacturer announced £50m of investment as its reinvigoration
continues. Mr Junck said the
company had seen month-on-month revenue improvement this financial
year and that it is on track to return to profit by the time it
releases its annual results on March 31 2017. The company did not
disclose figures, but also outlined plans for £50m of investment in
its plants and announced that it had taken on 270 people since its
formation on June 1.
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