Thursday 20 June 2024

Barclay Brothers Run Off With The Cash ( £278 million estimate)20/06/2024

 Attempts to trace the cash via a network of companies controlled by the Barclay family have been unsuccessful as part of a review of seven years of potentially irregular transactions that has drawn interest from criminal investigators.

Specialists from HMRC and the National Crime Agency, which acts as an information clearing house for financial authorities including the Serious Fraud Office, have been in contact with the company and its advisers. It has not been disclosed if investigations have been launched and the Barclay family declined to comment.

The £278m, recorded as a “provision” in accounts for 2023 newly filed at Companies House, pushed The Telegraph to a record loss of £245m last year despite what its leaders said was a strong underlying performance.

The sum includes more than £200m extracted as loans on annual amounts in the tens of millions, as well as more than £20m in fees related to the ownership crisis that has gripped the business since last summer. A further £55m relates to a corporate loan.

The losses on paper came despite rises in turnover and underlying earnings that were driven by growth in digital subscriptions and advertising. The Telegraph’s independent directors, brought in when the Barclay family lost control a year ago, said the underlying business remains healthy.

Turnover increased by 5pc to £268m, within which digital subscription revenue was up 18pc and digital advertising 33pc. Total subscriptions, which include print and digital, puzzles and “bonus” free subscriptions, topped one million after climbing more than 300,000.

One wonders where the Dynamic Duo will be found ?

Saturday 25 May 2024

Happiness & Health are the best of Friends to court , long may they be dear accomplices of Ours

 As the long term wait for an uptick remains elusive .

Life gets in the way of progress .

Outstanding


       Gold / bbr391

Saturday 13 April 2024

The Great Post Office Swindle 2024

 Well done Sir Wyn  ( Pitbull , Pint of Beer please & Team )

Keep putting them dreadfully lazy people through the pain ( they so richly deserve )

Bit of a shame not much  mud manged to stick on Crozier . One hopes ALL will be fined & prosecuted financially ( even Crow ) 

Horizons Originators need An extra proportioned cost .

Fujitsu MUST pay at least 50% of all the Net Cost .

A threatened ban on their products , may wake up their conscience



Outstanding

Renationalisation of Water Imminent ( Let`s Get Better ) 2024

 

Thames Water crisis deepens

The government is exploring the possibility of temporarily nationalising Thames Water. The utility company, which serves 15 million people in London and its surrounding areas, has debts in excess of £14bn – 80% of the total value of the business.

It is currently seeking “further equity funding” on top of the £500m it raised from shareholders just three months ago. 

While the consortium that has owned Thames Water since 2017 is yet to pay shareholders a dividend, some analysts blame the current malaise on its previous owner, Macquarie. The Australian bank withdrew £2.7bn in dividends from the water company while increasing its borrowings by more than £7bn. 

The water industry is facing a wider crisis. British water companies have collectively racked up £65bn in debt since privatisation, raising fears over their ability to modernise leaky infrastructure.

Of course this goes back to Thatch .

Why are these companies not overseen with  stricter parameters .

Poor Old Taxpayers ie ( YOU & I ) will again pick up the tab for stupidity & greed.

Outstanding


Friday 19 January 2024

Sébastien de Montessus £23 million Steal . Tip of the Iceberg ?

 

Sacked FTSE 100 chief executive to forfeit £23m in pay and benefits

Sébastien de Montessus of Endeavour Mining was sacked this month over allegations of a multimillion-dollar ‘irregular payment


How many Other Bosses should be giving back their overblown remittances .

Dreadful People running such large businesses .

Where is your  magnanimity .

Bosses continue to DISAPPOINT everyone else But themselves .

Monday 8 January 2024

Self Deprecation & Why You should know what It means 08/01/2024

 Self deprecation or self defecation .


Seems to be a lot of Internet users whom seem to be oblivious that , only the former Practitioners are worthy of your time & attention .

Schools are lacking in teaching thus  ; more Sir Humphrey and less there`s a Humphrey about please .

 While your at It , less greed , more satiate the need  .

Thankyou , happy New Year Indeed .


          bbr391


The billionaire boss of Bet365 pocketed more than £270m last year in another huge payday for the founder of the Stoke-on-Trent-based gambling company.

Denise Coates, who set up Bet365 in a portable building in the Staffordshire city in 2000, received the bumper payout despite the firm making a £60m loss.


Thursday 4 January 2024

Boss You Mate 04/01/2024

The bosses of Britain’s biggest companies will have made more money in 2024 by Thursday lunchtime than the average UK worker will earn in the entire year, according to analysis of vast pay gaps amid strike action and the cost of living crisis.

The High Pay Centre, a thinktank that campaigns for fairer pay for workers, said that by 1pm on the third working day of the year, a FTSE 100 chief executive will have been paid more on an hourly basis than a UK worker’s annual salary of £34,963, based on median average remuneration figures for both groups.

Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, the umbrella body for UK trade unions, said: “While working people have been forced to suffer the longest wage squeeze in modern history, City bosses have been allowed to pocket bumper rises and bankers have been given unlimited bonuses.”

Nowak blamed politicians for allowing the gap between bosses’ and workers’ pay to increase. “The Conservatives are presiding over – and enabling – obscene levels of pay inequality,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be this way. We need an economy that rewards work – not just wealth. 

History Itself Repeats . Ten years until the Bust is on the radar .

Bulls enjoy IT whilst you can 

bbr391 / Guardian / Murdo

YES he is still alive


CEO of Endeavour Mining 


A Top ten Mining company by world valuation


Sebastien De Montessus  REMOVED as CEO

This followed an investigation by the board into an ‘irregular payment’, worth an estimated £4.7m, made by the Frenchman. 

Endeavour became aware of it during a review of its acquisitions and sales of parts of the business. 

It is unclear where the payment was directed and a review is ongoing into the details. 

De Montessus, 49, who has led the gold miner since 2016, also faces separate allegations over his personal conduct with colleagues – plunging it into even further scandal about Its culture .

The allegations were reported in October through a ‘confidential whistleblowing channel’ and prompted an external investigation, the company said in a statement to the London market. 

Tuesday 19 December 2023

Inrastructure India PLC........ Christmas 2023

 Infrastructure India PLC - infrastructure fund investing directly into assets in India - Says it expects to release 2023 results in the first quarter of 2024. Will be able to publish interim results immediately afterwards. Also expects to convene an annual general meeting in the first quarter. Says results delay is due to delays in the disposal of Distribution Logistics Infrastructure Private Ltd. Says this transaction allows it to remain invested in the Indian logistics sector and is expected to realise enhanced value for shareholders at the time of exit, most likely within 24 to 36 months from closing. Says both Distribution Logistics and purchaser Pristine Malwa Logistics Park Private Ltd are "working diligently towards completion", with "certain complex issues" now "nearing resolution". Currently expects to complete sale by January 15. Adds that planned sale of Indian Energy Ltd to FA Power Renewables Private Ltd, closing of which was delayed due to "regulatory matters", is now close to finalisation.

Current stock price: Suspended in London, last closed at 0.50 pence on October 2

12-month change: down 99%

By Emma Curzon, Alliance News report


Should be an Interesting 2024 for IIP holders 

Wednesday 13 December 2023

Looney fined £32,426,000 13/12/2023

 

Former BP boss Bernard Looney forfeits £32m after ‘serious misconduct’

The former chief executive of BP, Bernard Looney, is to lose up to £32m in pay after the oil giant concluded that he had commited “serious misconduct”.

In September Mr Looney resigned from BP after it emerged he had failed to fully disclose previous relationships with colleagues.

The company today said that, in 2022, it had “sought assurances regarding disclosure of his past personal relationships with Company colleagues and his future behaviour” and that these were given.

BP said:

Following careful consideration, the board has concluded that, in providing inaccurate and incomplete assurances in July 2022, Mr Looney knowingly misled the board. The board has determined that this amounts to serious misconduct, and as such Mr Looney has been dismissed without notice effective on 13 December 2023. This decision had the effect of bringing Mr Looney’s 12 month notice period to an immediate end.

The company said that Mr Looney would receive no further salary or pension allowance or benefits from today. In addition, share awards and bonuses since 2021 that are unvested (that is, set aside but not paid until certain conditions are met) would “lapse”.

BP added that:

The total maximum value of the potential remuneration that has been forfeited or clawed back is £32,426,000.

87pc of this value is automatically forfeited as a result of Mr Looney’s resignation with immediate effect on 12 September 2023. 10pc results from the board’s decision that he should be dismissed following serious misconduct and the further 3pc has been clawed back at the discretion of the board.

Mr Looney has been contacted for comment

Wednesday 29 November 2023

Barclays (Staley was Epstein`s most cherished of friends ) 2023

 Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) Securities Fraud Class Action:

The complaint alleges that Defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that:

(1) contrary to his false public statements and assertions to Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), Barclays’ ex-CEO Jes Staley had a very close relationship with Epstein;

(2) Staley was reportedly aware of Epstein’s criminal activities and may have even sexually assaulted a victim who had previously been trafficked by Epstein;

(3) Staley’s close, personal relationship with Epstein, and potential criminal activity, if discovered could bring reputational, legal, and financial harm to Barclays;

(4) as a result, Barclays’ response to the FCA inquiry regarding Staley’s relationship with Epstein was materially false; and

(5) Barclays, having become aware of information contradicting its response to the FCA’s inquiry, then failed to update the response so that it would be accurate, or otherwise take any meaningful action.

Investors began to learn the truth on Nov. 1, 2021, when Barclays announced Staley’s departure after becoming aware of the FCA’s preliminary conclusions regarding the company’s and Staley’s characterization of the Epstein relationship.

Subsequently, the Financial Times reported that Staley and Epstein exchanged 1,200 emails over a four-year period and, just before joining Barclays in 2015, Staley sailed his yacht to Epstein’s island in the Caribbean.

Finally, on Oct. 12, 2023, the FCA announced that “Staley recklessly approved a letter sent by Barclays to the FCA, which contained two misleading statements, about the nature of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the point of their last contact.” The FCA fined Staley, barred him from the financial services industry and observed that Staley’s emails described Epstein as one of his “deepest” and “most cherished” friends.

Each of these events drove the price of Barclays American Depositary Shares lower.

“We’re focused on investors’ losses and are investigating whether Barclays may have intentionally misled investors about the nature of the Staley-Epstein relationship,” said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.

If you invested in Barclays and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm’s investigation, submit your losses now »

If you’d like more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the Barclays case and our investigation, read more »

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Barclays should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email BCS@hbsslaw.com .

Shell PLC / Hudson Energy FINED ( yet again ) 2023

 Proposal of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (‘the Authority’) to impose a financial penalty on Shell Energy UK Limited (SEUK), following an investigation into that company relating to matters while under its previous name of Hudson Energy Supply UK Limited (‘HES’) 1 and its compliance with its obligations under Standard Licence Conditions (‘SLCs’) 0A, 7A.1, 7A.8, 7B and 21B.1 of its electricity supply licence. 1. Summary 1.1. This case concerns acts or omissions which, in the opinion of the Authority, constitute contraventions of the above SLCs committed by HES in relation to Non-Domestic Customers supplied under its electricity supply licence. 1.2. From 2015 to July 2020, HES had an arrangement (“the arrangement”) with a third-party (“the third-party”), whereby the third-party acquired customers for HES and then conducted customer facing activities with those customers (including those activities subject of breach in this case). 1.3. Whilst the third-party carried out some of the actions that are the subject of the breaches set out in this document, HES, as licensee, is responsible for the actions of the third-party and the resultant poor treatment of its customers. On this basis HES itself is found in breach of the above SLCs.


A company owned by oil and gas giant Shell has been slapped with a fine by the energy regulator Ofgem, weeks after the communications regulator also fined part of the customer-facing part of the group.

Hudson Energy Supply (HES), a non-domestic market energy supplier which Shell purchased in 2019 as part of its efforts to take on the UK retail energy supply market, must cough up £1.6m after the regulator found it “failed its customers by failing to comply with a number of important licence conditions.”

An investigation by Ofgem opened in July 2020, found a number of breaches, including outsourcing services without supervision, leading to poor provision, and a “serious unjustified overcharging of customers, in one case of £22,500.”

The probe found that on average customers were overcharged by more than £1,800, with some not receiving their money back for seven months.



MORE Larger fines for this behaviour please Conservative PLC

Wednesday 8 November 2023

The State of Israel ( Pricing Supplement) Nov 2023

 PUBLICATION OF PRICING SUPPLEMENT

Released 07:00:06 
RNS Number : 8639S
State Of Israel
08 November 2023
 

State of Israel - Ministry of Finance

Publication of Pricing Supplement

The following Pricing Supplement is available for viewing:

Pricing Supplement dated 8 November 2023 in respect of an issue by the State of Israel (the Issuer) of EUR260,000,000 0.625 per cent. Notes due 18 January 2032 (the Notes) to be consolidated and form a single Series with the outstanding EUR1,500,000,000 0.625 per cent. Notes due 18 January 2032 issued on 18 January 2022.

 

The Notes are issued under the Euro Medium Term Note Programme established by the Issuer. The Pricing Supplement must be read in conjunction with the Offering Circular dated 15 July 2021 (the Offering Circular) in relation to the Programme.

To view the Pricing Supplement in respect of the Notes, please paste the following URL into the address bar of your browser.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8639S_1-2023-11-8.pdf

To view the Offering Circular, please paste the following URL into the address bar of your browser.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8639S_2-2023-11-8.pdf

 

DISCLAIMER - INTENDED ADDRESSEES

This announcement is not for distribution in the United States.

Please note that the information contained in the Pricing Supplement and the Offering Circular may be addressed to and/or targeted at persons who are residents of particular countries (specified in the Pricing Supplement and/or the Offering Circular) only and is not intended for use and should not be relied upon by any person outside these countries and/or to whom the offer contained in the Pricing Supplement and/or the Offering Circular is not addressed. Prior to relying on the information contained in the Pricing Supplement and/or the Offering Circular, you must ascertain from the Pricing Supplement and the Offering Circular whether or not you are part of the intended addressees of, and eligible to view, the information contained therein. 

In particular, none of this announcement, the Pricing Supplement or the Offering Circular shall constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption from registration or qualification under the securities law of any such jurisdiction.

The securities referred to in the Pricing Supplement and/or the Offering Circular (the Securities) have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or under any relevant securities laws of any state of the United States of America and are subject to U.S. tax law requirements. Subject to certain exceptions, the Securities may not be offered or sold directly or indirectly within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons or to persons within the United States of America, as such terms are defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act. Any forwarding, distribution or reproduction of the Offering Circular in whole or in part is prohibited. Failure to comply with this notice may result in a violation of the Securities Act or the applicable laws of other jurisdictions. There will be no public offering of the Securities in the United States.

The Pricing Supplement and/or the Offering Circular has been made available to you in an electronic form. You are reminded that documents transmitted via this medium may be altered or changed during the process of electronic transmission and consequently none of the Issuer, its advisers nor any person who controls any of them nor any representative, employee nor agent of it or affiliate of any such person accepts any liability or responsibility whatsoever in respect of any difference between the Pricing Supplement and/or the Offering Circular made available to you in electronic format and the hard copy version available to you on request from the Issuer.

For further information, please contact:

Ministry of Finance of Israel

1 Kaplan St.
Hakiria
Jerusalem 9195015
Israel

Telephone: +972-2-5317555

Fax: +972-2-5695387


Thankyou LSE

Wednesday 25 October 2023

Electric Cars Can Kill You 26/10/2023

 “Home chargers use a smaller current but AC generates a different magnetic field than DC. Home charging is likely safe with sensible precautions, such as not staying next to the charging cable for extended periods of time.

“Patients with cardiac devices can be reassured that charging electric cars with high-power chargers is safe. The risk of malfunction of pacemakers and defibrillators is extremely low in this situation.

“Sitting inside the car or standing next to the charging cable or charger is also safe. However, we would recommend not placing the charging cable directly over the cardiac device to maintain distance from the charging elements.”

As expected only more fail -safes can save humanity from It`s own Absurdities .

Courtesy European Society of Cardiology

www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/business/wilson-greatbatch-pacemaker-inventor-dies-at-92.html

Rest In Peace Mr Greatbatch

Sunday 22 October 2023

How To ( Fraud ) 22/10/2023

 

How to prevent fraud

The Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign is urging people to:

  • Stop: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe
  • Challenge: Could it be fake? It is OK to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you
  • Protect: Contact your bank immediately if you think you've fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud
  • Watch Atomic Shrimp Scammers Revealed 
  • Use Your common sense before signing your funds to Whomever .

 BBC / bbr391

The New BogeyMan 22/10/2023

 China has now usurped Russia as the new Bogey .


Shares are very static , we wait for big news from Maxify / Plaza .

Other shares ,even on the Market are doing the Stasis dance too .

Great news we have an electric car ( Welcome Zoe ).

Plus , huge congratulations is in order to Dave ( making it through the rain ,yet again ) ,

Will be good to have you around home base .


  bbr391 / Gold or Silver