Snapchat now fundraising with a $10bn valuation August 27, 2014 Ephemeral photo messaging app Snapchat is reportedly in the process of raising a new round of investment valuing the mobile messaging app at $10bn (£6bn), far above Facebook’s $3bn takeover offer last year. According to the Wall Street Journal, prolific Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer is said to have invested [...]
Profits up 180pc as Alibaba preps bumper $20bn New York listing August 27, 2014 CHINESE e-commerce giant Alibaba reported its profits almost tripled in the three months to the end of June. Alibaba, which could float on the New York Stock Exchange in the coming weeks, filed papers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showing profits jumped to 12.34bn yuan (£1.2bn), from 4.38bn yuan during the same period [...]
Salesfest at Tiffany’s as profit forecast rises August 27, 2014 Upscale jeweller Tiffany & Co raised its full-year profit forecast for a second time following a better-than-expected rise in quarterly profit, driven by strong sales and higher prices for its high-end jewellery in the Americas, its biggest market. Sales in the region, about half of overall sales, rose 10 per cent in the second quarter [...]
OneSavings Bank profits rise after lender tightens purse strings August 27, 2014 OneSavings Bank, the first British lender to float on the stock market since the turn of the century, yesterday said lower costs had helped to drive a four-fold rise in half-year profits. The lender, which offers mortgages and saving accounts through its Kent Reliance brand, said underlying pre-tax profits rose to £29.7m for [...]
Fyffes share price up as markets go bananas for Chiquita merger shipping savings August 27, 2014 Shares in London-listed fruit giant Fyffes jumped yesterday, after a joint announcement with banana colossus Chiquita that the firms identified another $20m (£12.06m) in synergy savings to be made by their merger. Fyffe’s shares rose to 78.5p during the day, up by 4.67 per cent from Tuesday’s close. The companies had already announced $40m in [...]
City A.M. helps Vodafone to launch its refurbished store August 27, 2014 Vodafone enjoyed a momentous day in the City yesterday – not least because City A.M.’s chief executive Jens Torpe and The Capitalist went down to its new store on Fenchurch Street, cutting the ribbon on the newly spruced up premises. The store is part of the mobile giant’s £100m investment in the high streets. UK [...]
Foxton’s prepares for housing market slowdown in London August 27, 2014 Investors fled Foxton’s shares yesterday after the London property agent warned that it expected a slowdown in the housing market in the second half of the year. The company, which floated in September last year, said measures introduced by the Bank of England to temper mortgage lending and the expectation of a hike in interest [...]
UK must build 40 new garden cities to meet housing demand or face shortfall August 27, 2014 Finalists for one of the most prestigious economics prizes in the world have called on the UK government to build at least 40 new garden cities, or continue to face a shortfall in housing supply across the country. Three of the five finalists for the Wolfson Economics prize advocated similar strategies when faced with the [...]
Asos share price surges on reports of US buyout August 27, 2014 Shares in online fashion retailer Asos soared yesterday on unconfirmed reports that a US company is eyeing a stake in the business. Asos shares, which have fallen by almost two-thirds this year after two profit warnings and a fire at its main warehouse, jumped 17 per cent to 2,751p, pushing up other online players, including [...]
McDonald’s to take legal action against Russian restaurant ban August 27, 2014 Fastfood giant McDonald’s yesterday hit back against the closure of five of its restaurants in Russia over what the country’s food regulator Rospotrebnadzor claimed were sanitary problems. Maxim Titarenko, a lawyer representing the fastfood company, protested: “The violations mentioned by the Rospotrebnadzor have already been eliminated or are being eliminated.” McDonald’s said in a statement: “We do [...]