Author: kumbhorg

Aston Martin is joining the ranks of listed automakers with an IPO that values the British company at more than $5 billion. But its first day of trading in London got off to a rocky start. The favorite carmaker of fictional British secret service agent James Bond priced its shares at £19.00 ($24.70), giving it a valuation of £4.3 billion ($5.6 billion). The final listing price is 16% below the top of the range that Aston Martin had targeted, reflecting investor doubts about whether the carmaker should be valued in the same league as Italian rival Ferrari. Shares dipped nearly…

Tommy LumbyBusiness data journalist, BBC NewsGetty ImagesA report has called for bold action to improve HMRC’s customer servicesHMRC has denied running a “deliberately poor” phone service in an attempt to push taxpayers to seek help online instead.Nearly 44,000 customers were cut off without warning after being on hold for more than an hour last year, a report by a committee of MPs has found.It said HMRC’s service had got even worse since its last report and warned the authority it had “damaged trust in the tax system”.HMRC chief executive Jim Harra said the committee’s claims on its customer service were…

Editor’s Note: This story originally published on October 3, 2018. New York CNN Business  —  Barnes & Noble stock jumped more than 20% after the board said it would consider a sale of the troubled company. The board said Wednesday it had appointed a special committee to review offers. One came from longtime Barnes & Noble chairman Len Riggio. He is the company’s largest shareholder, controlling close to 20%. Barnes & Noble (BKS) also disclosed that a shareholder it could not identify had rapidly built up a stake in the company. To block a hostile takeover, Barnes & Noble’s board…

Michael Race & Faisal IslamBusiness reporter & Economics editor, BBC NewsGetty ImagesChancellor Rachel Reeves says she is “optimistic” on the UK economy despite pressure on government finances after borrowing rose more than expected in December.Borrowing – the difference between spending and tax revenue – was £17.8bn last month, the highest December level for four years, according to official figures.Spending on public services, benefits, and debt interest were all up on the year, while an increase in tax receipts was offset by National Insurance cuts made by the previous government.Recent rises in borrowing costs threaten the government’s economic plans, with Reeves…

CNN  —  It’s time for investors to start making safer bets. That’s what Howard Marks, co-chairman of Oaktree Capital, told CNNMoney editor-at-large Richard Quest on “Markets Now” on Wednesday. “Defense is more important than offense” right now, said Marks, the author of “Mastering the Market Cycle: Getting the Odds on Your Side.” Investors should consider taking a stake in utilities, and decreasing their investments in more volatile tech stocks, he said. Defense is the name of the game for a few reasons. Though stocks have been soaring, Marks warned that we may be nearing the end of the bull cycle.…

Christal Hayes & Phil McCauslandBBC NewsBBCDonald Trump’s first full day in office has come to an end with a late-evening move to shut down the offices of federal agencies overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.He also pardoned a man convicted of operating Silk Road, a dark web marketplace, and launched a $500bn artificial intelligence plan.On Wednesday he will meet congressional leaders and appear on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News. His most frenetic time in a busy few days came shortly after taking the oath at his inauguration on Monday.He signed a flurry of executive orders to enact some of…

Click chart for more in-depth data. 1. The race to driverless cars: SoftBank (SFTBF) and Toyota (TM) are forming a joint venture that will use driverless-car technology to offer new services, such as mobile convenience stores and delivery vehicles in which food is prepared en route. SoftBank will own just over half of Monet, the new business, while Toyota will hold the rest. It’s the latest in a series of driverless development partnerships announced by tech companies and carmakers. SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund, its tech-focused investment arm, had already committed $2.3 billion to General Motors’ self-driving car unit GM…