THE DAILY BRIEFING
RBS SETTLES The Royal Bank of Scotland has settled with 87pc of shareholders over its disastrous £12bn fundraising drive in 2008. AMAZON JOBS 1,200 jobs will be created at a new Amazon warehouse. The online retailer is recruiting operations managers, engineers, human resources and IT staff for the site in Warrington, Cheshire – one of four ‘fulfilment centres’ it is opening this year.
GERMAN WOE Revenues at German lender Deutsche Bank have slumped 9pc to £6.2bn as it struggles to keep pace with rivals. Profits rose 52pc to £741.4m thanks to savage staff cuts, but this did nothing to reassure traders, who drove the stock down 3pc in Frankfurt. SALE ON Retail sales rose faster than expected in the year to April, according to a survey by the CBI lobby group. Around 59pc of businesses said volumes were up this month, recording the fastest rise since September 2015. PENSION CHALLENGE Insurance and pensions firm Jardine
Lloyd Thompson has warned of challenging market conditions in a trading update – but insisted it had ‘good momentum’. DIVI BOOST A Fidelity fund that seeks out under-priced companies has increased its half-year dividend by 80pc to 1.8p. Fidelity Special Values posted returns of 10.9pc in the six months to March. MINING CHAIR Kazakhstanfocused copper producer Kaz Minerals is promoting CEO Oleg Novachuk to chairman in defiance of corporate governance guidelines. STEEL CUTS Around 70 job cuts are planned by British Steel from a division that makes components for heavy machinery such as forklift trucks and mining shafts. The Special Profiles division employs 307 at a plant in Skinningrove, Teesside, and 24 at a plant in Darlington, County Durham. CHINA SELL-OFF A 50pc stake in one of China’s largest petrochemicals companies is being sold by BP for £1.31bn. Its stake in Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Company is being bought by Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co Ltd, a subsidiary of BP’s joint venture partner Sinopec.
GAS PLUNGE oal bed methane producer Green Dragon Gas says revenues fell from £28m in 2015 to £22m in 2016 due to a fall in sales and worsening exchange rates.