Mitchells & Butlers blames poor weather for August sales slump September 25, 2014 PUBS AND restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers reported a slight 0.6 per cent rise in like-for-like full-year sales yesterday in a trading update, due to mixed performance over the summer. Mitchells & Butlers, whose chains include Harvester and All Bar One, said sales in July were boosted by the World Cup, but that damp weather [...]
CSR soars on extended deadline for US Microchip’s takeover bid September 25, 2014 BRITISH microchip firm Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) has extended the deadline for US company Microchip Technology to make a takeover bid for the group, which reportedly could be up to $3bn (£1.84bn). CSR’s shares jumped 5.01 per cent yesterday after it announced the deadline extension, to close at 765p per share. The silicon chip designer [...]
City Moves for 26 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 25, 2014 PwC The professional services firm has appointed Simon Hampton to lead its real estate deals practice. He joins from Jefferies, where he was head of real estate, gaming and lodging. Hampton has also held senior positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Alliance Trust Peter Michaelis has been appointed head of equities at the savings [...]
Best of the Brokers for 26 September 2014 September 25, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com VESUVIUS Numis has downgraded to “hold” from “add”, with the target price maintained at 515p. The broker thinks while steel production continues to grow, European manufacturing shows signs of slowing, and that with little upside catalyst in the short term, shares look at [...]
London Report: Bank policy and property fears weigh on FTSE September 25, 2014 Britain’s FTSE 100 fell yesterday to a six-week low as concern that Britain and the United States would soon tighten monetary policy pulled down mining and energy stocks, as well as companies exposed to the UK property market. Shares in basic materials and energy companies knocked a combined 35 points off the FTSE 100, which [...]
New York Report: Apple’s gravity knocks 1.6pc off S&P index September 25, 2014 US STOCKS yesterday ended with sharp losses, with the S&P 500 suffering its biggest one-day decline since July, as Apple tumbled and the dollar rose to a four-year high. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 264.26 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 16,945.80, the S&P 500 lost 32.31 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 1,965.99 [...]
Is Uber about to give in to European regulators? September 25, 2014 Uber is willing to consider a dialogue over the regulation of the company's services in Europe, according to Uber's vice president for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Africa Niall Wass. Uber has faced angry opposition across Europe from regulators, politicians and taxi unions, with demonstrators across the continent voicing their displeasure at the company's regulatory [...]
US markets take a kicking as Apple share price falls following iPhone 6 and iOS8 issues September 25, 2014 Stocks across the US markets have got off to an awful start today, with Apple one of the biggest fallers. The S&P is having its seventh-worst day of the year and was down by 21 points at pixel time. Apple was the largest contributor to the S&P 500's growth last month as shares in the [...]
Barclays is the most complained about bank September 25, 2014 Barclays is the most complained-about bank, according to new figures from the Financial Conduct Authority. The bank received more than a quarter of a million complaints in the first half of the year. But it was not out on its own – Barclays was closely followed by Bank of Scotland and Lloyds. Despite taking the [...]
EU votes to continue paying carbon dioxide emission allowances for industries September 25, 2014 The European environment committee has voted against a proposal which would bring an end to the payment of substantial carbon dioxide emission allowances on behalf of industries. The European Union faces a conundrum when it comes to reducing its carbon dioxide emissions. On the one hand, charging companies for their emissions can encourage a [...]