Finance Matters » All Financial News http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters When Finance Matters Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:17:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 en hourly 1 PartyGaming adds 20 percent on merger news http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6505/partygaming-adds-20-percent-on-merger-news/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6505/partygaming-adds-20-percent-on-merger-news/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:17:32 +0000 Elaine Frei http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20786 European equities markets were mostly lower Thursday after US equities markets declined.
The FTSE 100 was 0.11 percent lower to 5,313.95 in London, but the FTSE 250 added 0.54 percent to 10,074.17 as investors hesitated ahead of US data on its gross domestic product, due to be reported on Friday.
The gains on the 250 were led [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6505/partygaming-adds-20-percent-on-merger-news/feed/ 0 Exxon Q2 profits surge 91% http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6506/exxon-q2-profits-surge-91/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6506/exxon-q2-profits-surge-91/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:06:42 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20783 Exxon Mobil, which is the world’s largest oil company, has today announced profits nearly doubled in the April to June period – easily exceeding analysts’ expectations.
The oil giant said net earnings rose to $7.56 billion, or $1.60 a share, against $3.95 billion, or 81 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.
Analysts had [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6506/exxon-q2-profits-surge-91/feed/ 0 Banks hide rate cuts from savers http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6490/banks-hide-rate-cuts-from-savers/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6490/banks-hide-rate-cuts-from-savers/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:21:47 +0000 David Masters http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20781 Banks are keeping their customers in the dark about interest rate changes on their accounts, new research has found.
The study by Which? Money found most banks rely on newspaper adverts or customers popping into their local branch to keep savers informed of rate cuts
Only four of the twelve banks investigated guaranteed to keep customers informed [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6490/banks-hide-rate-cuts-from-savers/feed/ 0 Euro zone economic sentiment surges in July http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6489/euro-zone-economic-sentiment-surges-in-july/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6489/euro-zone-economic-sentiment-surges-in-july/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:35:36 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20778 The euro zone received a boost today after a report revealed business and consumer confidence surged to its highest level since March 2008.
Confidence in the 16-member nation rose to 101.3 in July, up from a revised 99 in June, according to the European Commission’s economic sentiment index.
However, the Commission highlighted that the rise was led [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6489/euro-zone-economic-sentiment-surges-in-july/feed/ 0 Royal Dutch Shell Q2 profits surge 94% http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6485/royal-dutch-shell-q2-profits-surge-94/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6485/royal-dutch-shell-q2-profits-surge-94/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:56:51 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20775 Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has today announced second quarter profits almost doubled after completing its restructuring programme ahead of schedule.
Shell posted profits of $4.5 billion (£2.9 billion) – a rise of 94% on the $2.3 billion reported a year ago.
The Anglo-Dutch firm, which is Britain’s second largest oil company, has undergone a major a [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6485/royal-dutch-shell-q2-profits-surge-94/feed/ 0 Default retirement age to be scrapped from October 2011 http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6486/default-retirement-age-to-be-scrapped-from-october-2011/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6486/default-retirement-age-to-be-scrapped-from-october-2011/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:44:35 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20772 A shake-up of the retirement system will see the default retirement age scrapped in the UK from October 2011.
Under new Government proposals to be unveiled later today, employers will no longer have the legal right to terminate the employment of a 65-year-old.
Charities such as Age UK and activists have welcomed the new proposals as [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6486/default-retirement-age-to-be-scrapped-from-october-2011/feed/ 0 New High Street bank opens in London today http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6487/new-high-street-bank-opens-in-london-today/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6487/new-high-street-bank-opens-in-london-today/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:26:23 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20769 Metro Bank, which aims to make banking a “fun retail experience” opens in Holborn, central London today.
The bank is Britain’s first new high street lender for more than a century and it has pledged to return to “core banking values”.
The bank said it will employ more cashiers than the existing “big four” banks, while keeping [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6487/new-high-street-bank-opens-in-london-today/feed/ 0 Nationwide: house prices down 0.5% http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6488/nationwide-house-prices-down-0-5/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6488/nationwide-house-prices-down-0-5/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:15:04 +0000 Gill Montia http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20765 UK house prices fell back in July, for the first time since February, as buyer demand remained weak.
According to Nationwide, the average value of a home declined by 0.5%, to £169,347, taking the annual rate of inflation down to 6.6%, compared with 8.7% in June.
The lender notes that the sizeable drop is due in part [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6488/nationwide-house-prices-down-0-5/feed/ 0 Brit Insurance Holdings adds 10 percent in London http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6479/brit-insurance-holdings-adds-10-percent-in-london/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6479/brit-insurance-holdings-adds-10-percent-in-london/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:07:20 +0000 Elaine Frei http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20763 European equities markets were mostly lower Wednesday, led by declines in London as corporate quarterly results were disappointing and after the US Commerce Department said that durable goods orders fell 1 percent in June against an expected rise of 1 percent.
The FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 each dropped 0.86 percent, to 5,319.68 and 10,019.7 [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6479/brit-insurance-holdings-adds-10-percent-in-london/feed/ 0 BoE in no rush to hike interest rates http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6478/boe-in-no-rush-to-hike-interest-rates/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6478/boe-in-no-rush-to-hike-interest-rates/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:07:47 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20760 Speaking in front of the House of Commons’ Treasury select committee, the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has reiterated that interest rates will stay at the historic low of 0.5% for some time to come.
Mr King said: “It’s right to keep our foot firmly on the monetary accelerator”, adding he is more [...]

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