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Barclays Grows Profits But Shrinks Bonus Pool

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 03 Maret 2015 | 16.02

Barclays has announced a 12% rise in annual profits to £5.5bn and confirmed a cut to bonuses as it continues to count the cost of past conduct.

The profit figure, which beat City forecasts, was achieved as the bank continued to cut operating costs - by £1.8bn or 10% during 2014 alone.

However, it took an additional £750m charge in the final quarter to cover alleged involvement in the foreign exchange rate-rigging scandal.

The latest provision took its total exposure to the affair so far to £1.25bn while it also added £200m to provide for the compensation programme for customers mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI).

The bank's bonus pool fell 22% to £1.86bn.

Chief executive Antony Jenkins will take home £1.1m of that sum after deciding to take his first annual award since taking the job in 2012.

His total pay package for 2014 came to £5.5m.

He said the results showed that the bank was continuing to make progress under its Transform programme.

"Barclays today is a stronger business, with better prospects, than at any time since the financial crisis," he said.

"While our work in transforming the bank is not yet complete, our performance in 2014 gives us confidence that we are on the right track."

The bank's cost base fell as it axed 14,000 jobs and closed a net 72 branches.

Barclays has closed a quarter of its branches since the financial crisis.

The bank's share price fell more than 2% when the FTSE 100 opened - reflecting investor concern on historical conduct.

Barclays did not enter into the settlements last November which saw six banks fined £2.6bn collectively over forex rigging by global regulators including the UK's Financial Conduct Authority.

It said it was seeking a "more general co-ordinated settlement" - with other authorities in the US still investigating the scandal.

Barclays has warned the probes could result in "substantial monetary penalties".

16.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Two-Thirds Of 'Cheshunt Nine' Leave Tesco

By Makr Kleinman, City Editor

Two-thirds of the executives suspended over Tesco's £263m profits overstatement scandal have left the supermarket giant.

Sky News understands that William Linnane, the head of buying for impulse purchases, is to leave the company as part of a vast programme of redundancies just weeks after being reinstated to his role.

His exit will follow that of Sean McCurley, who also temporarily returned to Tesco after being asked to stand aside from his job.

Of the nine managers suspended following the emergence of its supplier revenues issues, two-thirds have either left Tesco or are in the process of departing.

Matt Simister, Dan Jago and Chris Robinson are the only members of the so-called 'Cheshunt Nine' who are remaining in Tesco's employment, sources said on Monday.

Last week, Sky News revealed that John Scouler, another one of those suspended, was joining TalkTalk in a senior commercial role.

The resolution of their fate comes amid a plan being implemented by Dave Lewis, the new chief executive, to make thousands of staff redundant

Tesco denied on Monday that it had received applications for voluntary redundancy which outnumbered the roles being axed.

Last month, the supermarket giant named John Allan, the former chairman of Dixons Retail, as its next chairman.

Mr Allan will have to contend with a criminal investigation into the supplier payments by the Serious Fraud Office, while the Groceries Code Adjudicator and the Financial Reporting Council are undertaking separate inquiries.

He will also be charged with helping Dave Lewis, the new chief executive, navigate what analysts say is the toughest environment for big food retailers for many years.

In January, Mr Lewis outlined proposals to relocate Tesco's head office, close dozens of stores and terminate its defined benefit pension scheme in an effort to save costs.

He also plans to sell a stake in Dunnhumby, its customer loyalty arm, and has announced a long-term price-cutting initiative across hundreds of core grocery items.

The debate over Tesco's decline was recently reignited when Sir Terry Leahy, the former chief executive, blamed his successor, Philip Clarke, for "a failure of leadership".

A series of profit warnings last year led to Mr Clarke being sacked, but analysts pointed out that some of Tesco's least successful initiatives in recent years, including its expansion into the US and China, had taken place during Sir Terry's tenure.

Last month, Tesco said it would pay more than £2m in "liquidated damages" to Mr Clarke and Laurie McIlwee, its former finance director, after concluding that there was no legal basis for withholding the payments.

Tesco declined to comment on Mr Linnane or the other members of the 'Cheshunt Nine'.

16.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

StanChart Risks Reigniting Bank Bonus Row

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The emerging markets bank Standard Chartered will risk reigniting a row over City bonuses this week when it reveals that it is cutting bonuses by a smaller percentage than its decline in profits.

Sky News understands that the lender, which announced a boardroom clearout last week, will say on Wednesday that it is shrinking its bonus pool by approximately 9% from last year's $1.208bn (£786m), according to insiders.

That would mean Standard Chartered's bonus pool for 2014 will be in the region of £715m, they said.

However, the consensus among City analysts is for annual pre-tax profits to have slumped by as much as 20%, which one source acknowledged would leave Standard Chartered exposed to criticism that it is rewarding "payment for failure".

A person close to the company pointed out that Peter Sands, the bank's chief executive, had last year cut bonuses by 15% while profits had fallen by 11%.

The source also said that Standard Chartered paid out more in shareholder dividends than it did in staff bonuses, highlighting a contrast with banks including Barclays, which reports its full-year results on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, the remuneration figures may stoke criticism of Mr Sands even as he prepares to leave the bank, which is the shirt sponsor of Liverpool FC.

That will be reinforced when Barclays says that bonuses have fallen from close to £2.4bn to less than £2bn despite an increase in profits.

Last week, Sky News revealed that Standard Chartered had recruited Bill Winters, a former JP Morgan executive, to replace Mr Sands, which was later confirmed by the bank.

The company also said that Sir John Peace, its chairman, would also step down, alongside some other executive and non-executive directors.

Standard Chartered, which recently announced the sale of its consumer finance operations in Hong Kong, has endured a torrid couple of years.

US authorities recently said they were extending their scrutiny of the bank until 2017 as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.

In 2012, Standard Chartered struck a deal with regulators that saw it pay a $667m fine for violating sanctions requirements, and was forced to pay a further $300m in August after failing to make sufficient improvements to its systems and controls.

The management changes were welcomed by leading shareholders including Temasek, the Singaporean state fund, and Aberdeen Asset Management, the fund management group which is heavily exposed to emerging markets.

Standard Chartered, which has seen shares fall by more than 22% during the last year, has shaken confidence among investors after a string of profit warnings, regulatory bust-ups and management changes.

The bank declined to comment.

16.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

First-Time Buyers 'Get 20% Discount On Homes'

Written By Unknown on Senin, 02 Maret 2015 | 16.01

First-time buyers aged under-40 will be given the chance to buy a starter home at a 20% discount under a new Government scheme.

Planning rules for under-used brownfield sites will be relaxed from Monday in return for developers using the land to build properties to sell at 80% of the market value.

The scheme could save potential buyers tens of thousands of pounds, as the average cost of a first home is currently £218,000.

The Prime Minister said the discount "could be a real game-changer for many aspiring home-owners".

About 45 developers have so far expressed an interest in taking advantage of the move, that would save them around £15,000 per home in obligations.

Suggested designs for the new homes have been compiled by a panel including leading architects Sir Terry Farrell and Sir Quinlan Terry based on the best from around the country.

They highlighted "attractive properties that can meet the demands of modern life".

Potential buyers can express interest online now and the discount will apply for five years to prevent anyone seeking to make a quick profit.

Mr Cameron said: "We want to help people who work hard and want to get on in life but have been priced out of the housing market.

"A 20% discount off the price could be a real game-changer for many aspiring home-owners. My message is clear: we are on your side and we will help you fulfil your dream of buying your first home."

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: "The number of first-time buyers is already at a seven-year high and these starter homes... will help even more people realise their dream of home ownership.

"This will also form part of our wider efforts to get the country building again, which have already led to 700,000 new homes being delivered since the end of 2009."

But shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds said it remained unclear how the policy would deliver.

She said: "Warm words from David Cameron about home ownership will ring hollow for those young people and families who have been priced out of home ownership over the past five years.

"This Government has presided over the lowest levels of house building in peacetime since the 1920s and home ownership is at its lowest level for 30 years.

"There is also a record number of young people living at home with their parents in to their twenties and thirties.

"Labour will get at least 200,000 homes built a year by 2020, including badly needed affordable homes, and we will give first-time buyers first call on homes built in local areas of housing growth."

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Licence Fee Needs Updating, BBC Boss To Argue

BBC boss Tony Hall is expected to warn the corporation is at "a crossroads" and that the licence fee should be updated.

In a speech, the director general is to argue adapting the levy for the internet age is "vital".

Mr Hall is set to highlight a recent report by MPs which called for changes to the licence fee to include its catch-up iPlayer service and also suggested an alternative to the current system.

The preferred option of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee was for a universal household levy, regardless of whether people watched television or not.

Mr Hall will tell his audience at New Broadcasting House in central London: "We've always said that the licence fee should be updated to reflect changing times.

"I welcome the committee's endorsement of our proposal to make people pay the licence fee even if they only watch catch-up television.

"The committee has suggested another route to modernising the licence fee - a universal household levy.

"Both proposals have the same goal in mind: adapting the licence fee for the internet age.

"This is vital. Because I believe we need and we will need what the licence fee - in whatever form - makes happen more than ever."

In their report, members of the select committee said the licence fee, which was not currently required to watch iPlayer, must be changed to cover "catch-up television as soon as possible".

It went on: "The German model of a broadcasting levy on all households is our preferred alternative to the TV licence.

"Such a levy on all households would obviate the need to identify evaders and would be a fairer way of ensuring those people who use only BBC radio and online services contribute to their costs.

"A broadcasting levy which applied to all households regardless of whether or not householders watched live television would help support the use of a small proportion of the revenue raised for funding public service content and services by others, enhancing plurality."

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Struggling Samsung Lifts Lid On New Galaxy

Samsung has unveiled two new flagship smartphones with a host of features aimed at taking on arch-rival Apple.

The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, revealed at the tech giant's Unpacked event in Barcelona, have ditched the plastic case of previous versions in favour of a premium-look metal body.

The latter device has a screen that curves around both edges that will be used to display notifications and other information, including a contacts shortcut.

The company claims the smartphones are the most advanced and secure on the market.

This includes wireless charging which allows the devices to be powered up without being plugged in.

Battery charging speeds have also been improved, which will see the S6 charge one-and-a-half times faster than the existing S5 using regular plugged-in charging.

The company says it easily trumps the iPhone and can suck up 50% power in just half an hour.

The new devices have a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED screen - claimed to be the highest pixel density of any smartphone, with 577 pixels per inch.

An upgraded camera is also part of the package, with a better f1.9 aperture boosting the quality of low-light photos and a start up time of just 0.7 seconds.

The devices will also have an integrated payment system similar to the iPhone 6's Apple Pay.

The phones are expected to be released next month.

Samsung is under pressure for the latest models to be a commercial success after the disappointing reception to the Galaxy S5.

Tech experts' first reactions to the phone have been largely positive, particularly welcoming the change to a metal design.

The Verge praised Samsung, calling the handsets the "nicest phones it's ever designed".

Rob Kerr, a mobiles expert at comparison site uSwitch, added: "Samsung has finally decided that plastic isn't fantastic, with a welcomed move to a full-metal body flagship phone.

"These waters are already tried and tested routes by the likes of HTC and Apple, where a cheaper-looking handset just doesn't cut it anymore in the premium mobile phone world."

While Apple saw a record quarterly profit of £11.8bn, Samsung's full-year profits fell for the first time in three years when the firm posted its results in January.

Its Galaxy smartphones led the market in 2012 and 2013, pushing past Nokia, Motorola and Apple in terms of sales volume.

But that growth ground to a halt last year as its new models disappointed and it was squeezed on price in the low and mid-end phone markets by Chinese smartphone makers such as Xiaomi, which overtook Samsung in China and India.

Samsung responded by saying it was to reduce the number of models it produces to lower costs and help boost innovation.

The strategy is similar to Apple's which focuses on a handful of products such as phones, tablets and desktop computers.

Apple recently became the most valuable company in the world, with a markep cap of $701.7bn (£455.4bn).

Meanwhile, HTC also debuted its latest smartphone, the One M9, at the Barcelona show. The handset will go on sale at the end of March.

Sony and LG will also unveil new products at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) technology show, which takes place from 2-5 March.

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

First-Time Buyers 'Get 20% Discount On Homes'

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 01 Maret 2015 | 16.01