Facebook shares jump as profits triple

Facebook shares jumped over 8 percent in pre-market trading after results showed a tripling of first quarter profits.

Profits rose to $1.51 billion, up from $512m in the same period last year, with advertising revenues also increasing to $5.2 billion.

The company also announced plans to issue a new class of stock to enable CEO Zuckerberg to remain in control of the company as he gives shares to charity, with a statement saying that it would “encourage Mr Zuckerberg to remain in an active leadership role at Facebook”.

House price growth slows on tax changes

British annual house price growth slowed in April, according to the latest survey from mortgage lender Nationwide on Thursday.

House price growth eased to 4.9 percent year-on-year from 5.7 percent in March, slightly less than forecast by analysts.

Over the last month alone house prices edged up 0.2 percent, with Nationwide citing the increase in the stamp duty land tax for second home purchases as the reason behind the easing.

Nationwide also warned that wage and job growth could put pressure on the housing market in the future, with chief economist Robert Gardner saying that “there is a risk that the surge in house purchases in recent months will exacerbate the shortage of homes on the market.”

Lloyds makes steady progress in difficult economic climate

Lloyds Banking Group reported underlying profits in line with expectations on Thursday, keeping its head above water in a tricky economic climate.

The group saw a 46 percent drop in profits in the first quarter to £654 million, but saw underlying profits fall only 6 percent to £2.1 billion. This was in line with analysts’ expectations of £1.9 billion.

Chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio has put in place a strategy to streamline the business, cutting thousands of jobs and restructuring. In a statement, he commented:

“These results demonstrate the strength of our differentiated, simple, low risk business model and reflect our ability to actively respond to the challenging operating environment.”

28/04/2016