The US Federal Reserve has left short-term interest rates unchanged although it said the case for a rate hike had “strengthened” and left the door open for a move this side of the New Year.
Three out of the ten Fed policymakers voted against the decision, calling instead for an immediate increase in interest rates.
But Yellen, along with the other six members, wants to wait for more data to back up the view that the US economy is on the mend.
“The committee judges that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has been strengthened, but decided, for the time being, to wait for further evidence of continued progress towards its objectives,” the Fed said in a statement.
Apple to buy McLaren?
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has demonstrated its automotive ambition after it enquired about the possibility of buying UK supercar engineer McLaren Technology Group.
Many analysts are seeing the approach as the clearest sign yet that the iPhone maker wants to take on the likes of Tesla and Google and dominate the automotive industry of tomorrow.
According to insiders, the talks started earlier this summer, with Apple reportedly considering a full takeover or at least a strategic investment in the Woking-based firm.
The US tech giant has been working on a self-driving electric vehicle for a couple of years now, and any tie-up could accelerate the project.
Estimates at what Apple would have to pay to buy Mclaren outright have varied, although most agree it would be somewhere in the region of £1bn to £1.5bn.
Lloyd’s of London working on EU “contingency plans”
Insurance market Lloyd’s of London has said that it is working on “contingency plans” to mitigate any issues caused when the UK leaves the EU.
The company said 4% of revenues could be lost when Brexit finally happens as it would lose its passporting rights to operate across the EU.
Lloyd’s said it hasn’t decided whether or not to open branches in individual countries to get around the issue, or if it’s best to just set up an EU-wide subsidiary.
As a result of the move, chief executive Inga Beale conceded to the BBC that “some people may end up doing their jobs in other parts of Europe rather than in London”.
E-On pays a hefty price for missed appointments
Energy firm E.ON is to pay a total of £3.1mln after missing appointments with customers and then failing to compensate them.
The energy supplier missed around 35,000 gas and electricity appointments between 2011 and 2015, after which customers should have received between £20 and £22 in compensation.
It failed to do so and Ofgem said the company “fell well short” of the standards expected.
E.On has now handed out cheques of between £40 and £44, double the original amounts due, to 24,000 private customers.
It has also agreed to pay a further £1.9mln to a couple of energy charities to account for the individual customers that it couldn’t identify.
Africa’s richest man wants a piece of Arsenal
Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has said that he is planning on buying Arsenal FC within the next few years.
Dangote – who has an estimated net worth of more than £8bln – first announced his intentions to buy the London-based football team last year.
He said that “there’s no doubt” if he will buy the club, or more a case of when.
“Maybe three to four years. The issue is that we have more challenging headwinds. I need to get those out of the way first and start having tailwinds. Then I’ll focus on this,” he told Bloomberg.
The ardent Gunners fan has lost around £3mln so far in 2016 as Nigeria’s currency has taken a dive and has most of his wealth tied-up in Lagos-based Dangote Cement PLC.