House prices in the UK have fallen by £5,000 on average, with the value of property in the south declining the most. The fall is the biggest drop in house prices since 2012, and areas where property prices were at the highest have been hit the hardest. ... Read More
Royal Mail’s new chief executive promised to boost the performance of the group, including conducting a review of its UK postal network, after the group announced that it’s first-half profits had more than halved. ... Read More
Royal Mail Plc could be in danger of being relegated from the FTSE 100 if its profits continue to slip. The postal company has seen profits plunge thanks to a decline in the number of letters being sent. After the company published its latest report, shares initially responded positively as the company promised cost cutting measures, but later in the day the shares had declined, and by the close of trading on Friday they were close to the £3 mark. ... Read More
Some analysts say that if a recession were to occur in China, it would only affect the Chinese. That’s wishful thinking in the eyes of others, though, as the Chinese economy has massive leverage. The trade war between the US and China is starting to cause ripples in the economy, and the rate of growth of the Chinese economy was already starting to slow. ... Read More
Civitas Social Housing PLC is set to be added to the FTSE 250 as of Tuesday. The company is a real estate investment trust that is under the management of Civitas Housing Advisors Ltd. ... Read More
The pound enjoyed a surge today on the hopes that the government was a step closer to agreeing a Brexit deal. The sterling climbed 1.4 percent to trade at $1.306 against the dollar, and also hit a near seven-month high against the Euro. ... Read More
The high street clothing retailer New Look has announced plans to shut more stores. Originally, the company was planning to shut 60 of its stores, but on Tuesday it announced an additional 25 closures, with 13 more in consideration. ... Read More
More than 1,400 jobs in Britain could be at risk as two European companies supplying car parts have announced plans to close their UK factories in the run up to Brexit. Schaeffler and Michelin have announced factory closures in the run up to Brexit. ... Read More
After a very difficult month, the FTSE 100 closed October on a rally, jumping more than 100 points to end on a high note. A similar picture played out across the global stock markets, with the US, Asian and European markets all looking strong. ... Read More
A rally in the banking sector has helped the FTSE 100 to recover quite sharply, however US markets went steeply into reverse. London’s top-flight share index was boosted by almost two percent early in the trading day, but ended the day up by just 1.25%, sitting at 7026, although this is still a significant bounce back after last week’s heavy sell-off. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 rallied slightly in anticipation of the coming budget, as upbeat earnings and positive corporate news helped to boost investor sentiment. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 is on track for its poorest monthly performance in a decade. The UK’s leading index ended last week down by 1.4 percent, after a weak start on Wall Street hampered overall global sentiment. ... Read More
Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed that it is setting aside £100 million which will be used to help it deal with the more uncertain economic outlook. RBS is among the first of the big banks to be taking such precautions as the Brexit deadline approaches. ... Read More
Shares in WPP fell by more than 20 percent during early trading on Thursday, as investors were left stunned following a disappointing trading update. The company has slashed its full-year guidance, and is struggling to get back on track after its founder and chief exec, Sir Martin Sorrell, departed the advertising group in April. ... Read More
IAG has confirmed that a cyber attack on British Airways may have caused the data of 185,000 more customers to have been breached. Under the new data protection regulations, the airline could face a penalty of at least £17 million. ... Read More
Debenhams is said to be attempting to close 50 out of its 166 stores, and is preparing to announce results which include a loss of £500 million. The chain had previously said that it was planning to close 10 stores over the next five years, but is now understood to have raised that target. ... Read More
There has been a lot of discussion in the news about retailers - including high street giants such as House of Fraser - attempting to use CVAs to negotiate cheaper rents, leaving landlords in a difficult financial situation. Many of these landlords hold the properties as part of an investment portfolio, and are fund operators who have an obligation to their investors to make as much as they can from the property. ... Read More
The employers’ organisation CBI is urging the government to end the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, as the deadlocked talks are already causing issues in terms of reduced investment, poor business confidence, and a sharp fall in orders. ... Read More
House of Fraser is set to close its large Manchester Store, as its new owner, Sports Direct, says that the landlord of the site has refused to negotiate a new rent deal. The closure of the store will put over 160 jobs at risk. ... Read More
Shares in British online fashion retailer ASOS have bounced back, as the company benefits from a shift to online shopping. The company is enjoying soaring profits, and has exceeded its forecasts for the year so far. In its recent report it said that it had enjoyed another year of double digit sales growth. The news has helped to boost shares in the company. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 fell into correction territory late last week, as the stock market saw a sell off that was prompted by fears of rising interest rates in the US. The Dow Jones continued its downward trend, closing down by 545.9 points, while the British Blue Chip index shed another 1.9 points. ... Read More
UK house prices have increased by 3.2 percent, however the London property market is sluggish, and has seen a fall of 0.2 percent. While 3.2 percent is still growth, it is the slowest rate that the UK market has seen in fve years. ... Read More
Two former Tesco managers are facing trial over an alleged fraud which has resulted in the company’s profits being overstated to the tune of a quarter of a billion pounds. ... Read More
Retailer WHSmith will be closing several stores, and calling a halt to a number of initiatives that had been aimed at reviving its high street business, following a year of difficult trading conditions. ... Read More
UK businesses are starting to feel the bite of Brexit-related uncertainty, as companies are seeing slower exports, struggling with recruitment, and finding that investment plans are being scaled back. ... Read More