Category: Europe

Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) reported a more than 70 percent fall in quarterly profit on Thursday, well below analyst estimates, blaming weak oil prices, poor refining profits and higher charges resulting from its $54 billion acquisition of BG Group. Shell’s current cost of supplies — its definition of net income — came to $1 billion…

GlaxoSmithKline is to invest £275m to expand its UK manufacturing sites, saying the country remains “an attractive location” despite Brexit. The pharmaceutical firm, whose chief executive Sir Andrew Witty backed the Remain campaign, said the UK’s skilled workforce and competitive tax system helped drive the decision. It said most of the products made at the…

California’s power grid operator on Wednesday asked electric companies to restrict maintenance work on their generating facilities and transmission lines to help maintain reliability as a heat wave bakes the northern part of the state. The California Independent System Operator (ISO), which oversees California’s bulk electric power system, said on its website that generation resources…

Switzerland’s FINMA financial watchdog suspects banks being probed about ties to scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1MDB had lax money-laundering controls, it said on Thursday, but declined to give any details about four open investigations. “FINMA has indications here that the measures for combating money laundering were insufficient,” a spokesman said. He was responding to news…

After a three-week long shutdown imposed by the government to prevent a banking system collapse, Greek banks opened their doors on Monday, the very first step towards a return to normal after the deal. However, all the capital controls on financial activities remained in place; the daily cash withdrawal limit of €60 has been replaced…

The UK unemployment rate has fallen to 4.9%, the lowest since July 2005, according to official figures. The unemployment total fell to 1.65 million in the March-to-May period, down 54,000 from the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The figures cover the period before the UK vote to leave the European Union.…

Unilever Plc (ULVR.L) said it has agreed to buy razor-maker Dollar Shave Club in a deal that would expand the consumer goods group’s catalog of men’s grooming products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in a statement released Tuesday evening. Unilever approached Dollar Shave Club for the deal and is paying $1 billion…

The International Monetary Fund  (IMF) slashed its UK outlook after the country voted to leave the European Union and forecast the economy will grow at its weakest pace since 2012 next year. The IMF said in its World Economic Outlook on Tuesday that Britain’s gross domestic product will rise 1.7% this year before expansion cools…

UK shares have dipped further and the pound has edged higher as investors continue to digest the Bank of England’s latest pronouncement. On Thursday, the Bank stunned the markets by keeping interest rates on hold, following speculation that it would cut rates from 0.5% to 0.25%. At the open on Friday, the FTSE 100 was…