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
Unilever has opted to back down from its plans to end its dual headed structure and opt for a single headquarters in the Netherlands. The decision to stick with the dual structure is one that has been met with positive sentiment by British shareholders, who were worried that the move out of the FTSE 100 would see them losing money. ... Read More
Shares in Tesco have fallen by 8% after the company reported that it had seen disappointing profits during the first half of the year. For that period, the company reported that pre-tax profits were up by 2.2 percent, to £564 million. ... Read More
Aston Martin is due to float publicly this week, but is expected to fall just short of the FTSE 100. The company has announced a narrowing of its share valuation, with the expected pricing now being between£20 and £18.5, a fall of 11 percent at the top end (down from £22.50), and a rise of 6 percent at the bottom end, up from £17.50. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 ended Friday down by 35 points, at 7,510, although it was still up by 0.26% over the whole week. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 outperformed the broader European markets on Friday, as shares on the continent sustained steep losses. The Italian government has set a higher than expected budget deficit target, which could see Rome colliding with Brussels. ... Read More
An independent review into the issue of climate change has found that BT, M&S and Unilever are leading the way when it comes to climate action, however most companies are not doing enough to safeguard the environment. ... Read More
The FTSE 100 got off to a difficult start to the week, as trade tariffs kicked in, destroying investor optimism. The UK’s leading index shed almost 32 points, to close at 7,458. The FTSE 250 also slipped, and US stocks were showing weakness as well. ... Read More
The UK’s car manufacturing industry has seen declines for the third consecutive month, reporting a fall of 12.9 percent in August compared to the same time in the previous year. ... Read More
Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley has spoken out against greedy landlords, who he feels have led to the closure of three House of Fraser branches. Ashley bought the retailer out of administration in a £90 million deal. He has announced that 15 sites which had previously been earmarked to be closed will now remain open. ... Read More
The Competition and Markets Authority has referred the proposed merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda for an in-depth investigation. The CMA has confirmed, after completing its Phase 1 investigation, that the proposals raise sufficient concerns to warrant a more in-depth review. ... Read More
Economists are warning that we are seeing the beginnings of another financial crisis - one that could be worse than the global meltdown seen in 2008. ... Read More