French Connection share price falls even as retailer narrows losses September 18, 2014 French Connection shares fell almost 14 per cent yesterday as the retailer struck a cautious note over the crucial Christmas period ahead, even as losses narrowed in the in the first half of the year. The clothes retailer has been trying to reverse its fortune after years of weak sales by cutting back on the [...]
Investors in for volatility shock September 18, 2014 INVESTORS are too confident that a prolonged period of market stability will continue, and could be hit hard when volatility returns, the Financial Stability Board warned yesterday. “Volatility in asset prices has become compressed and asset valuations stretched across a growing number of markets, increasing the risk of a sharp reversal,” according to the group of [...]
Hedge fund Elliott Advisors earns £59m after selling down stake in Game Digital September 18, 2014 GAME Digital’s US hedge fund owner Elliott Advisors has pocketed £58.5m after selling a chunk of its stake in the video games retailer, dragging shares down yesterday. Liberum Capital revealed yesterday it had sold 22.5m shares held behalf of Elliott Advisors through a Luxembourg-registered investment vehicle, Duodi. The tranche of shares, which was sold through [...]
Card Factory up on delivery of maiden results September 18, 2014 DISCOUNT greeting card shop Card Factory reported its half-year results yesterday, showing underlying profits that grew 9.3 per cent, but an overall £7.9m loss due to the costs of its initial public offering (IPO) in May. Revenues during the six months to 31 July rose 8.9 per cent to £149.4m on the back of an [...]
Eurozone QE more likely as banks decline offer of cheap funds from Super Mario September 18, 2014 EUROPE’S banks borrowed less than expected from the European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday, scotching boss Mario Draghi’s hopes that the offer of funds would help boost lending and so aid the economy. Instead, he may have to launch a fully fledged quantitative easing (QE) scheme to buy government debt. The 255 participating lenders took a [...]
Confident shoppers Hoover up vacuums ahead of Brussels’ ban September 18, 2014 THE UK recovery received a fresh boost from confident consumers splashing out in August, official figures showed yesterday. Retail sales were up 3.9 per cent on the year in August, driven by sales of luxury goods and powerful vacuum cleaners that are being banned by the European Union. There was a six per cent uptake in purchases [...]
City flocks for a taste of Boris’s Big Breakfast with Dr Fox and Richard Desmond September 18, 2014 Auch, it was nye on impossible to talk of anything other than Scotland yesterday, but Boris Johnson made a good stab at it over breakfast – hosting the London’s Big Breakfast charity campaign at City Hall with Magic FM’s Dr Fox and The Mayor’s Fund for London. Richard Desmond was there chatting to primary school [...]
Stephen King’s Milan horror as he’s mistaken for someone else September 18, 2014 Oh we do love a good case of mistaken identity. HSBC’s global chief economist Stephen King jetted into Milan yesterday, to give a talk at a client conference about new emerging geographies. On finishing his oration, a man approached asking him to autograph a copy of his book for his wife. King’s economic page-turner, When [...]
Leafing street level for top of Walkie Talkie September 18, 2014 Don’t look down: The moment a tree is hoisted up by crane to the top of 20 Fenchurch St before being guided down into its soon-to-be-launched Sky Garden on levels 35, 36 and 37.
Canary Wharf’s shopping malls boost Songbird Estates September 18, 2014 Songbird Estates, the listed property giant behind London’s Canary Wharf Group, said the value of its shopping centres had reached a record £1bn in the first half of the year as the company pushed ahead with a new mall above its planned Crossrail station. The company is building 115,000 square feet of retail [...]