Co-op’s Paul Flowers charged with drugs offences April 16, 2014 The former chairman of the Co-op bank, Paul Flowers, has been charged with offences over class A and class C drugs. Flowers held the role until last summer, when it was alleged by the Mail on Sunday that he had been using illegal narcotics, including crystal meth. It was revealed in January that Flowers had [...]
Eurozone inflation confirmed at 0.5pc as pressure piles on Draghi April 16, 2014 The shock fall seen in Eurozone inflation in March has been confirmed this morning. A final revision of Eurozone inflation for March has come in at 0.5 per cent – confirming the four-year low preliminary reading and stoking concerns that the economic area could slip into deflation, as disinflation continues. Below the European Central Bank [...]
How your train fare’s helping the government cut its rail subsidies April 16, 2014 BRITAIN’S railways are being funded increasingly by passengers as the government trims back its subsidies. In the last financial year, customers stumped up £7.7bn, or 59.2 per cent of the network’s £12.3bn running costs, or even more if you include the £700m paid out in parking charges. The Office of Rail Regulation said this increase, [...]
Wage growth is back with a bang as unemployment falls below 7pc April 16, 2014 Perhaps finally an ease to consumer budgets, and a chance that the "cost of living crisis" meme may start to fade away. For the first time since July 2009, the Office for National Statistics' measure of average earnings growth may now exceed headline inflation. Yesterday saw headline consumer price inflation fall to a four and [...]
Embattled insurer RSA’s UK and Western Europe boss quits April 16, 2014 RSA Insurance's attempts to renew itself continue. The insurer announced the "agreed resignation" of its UK and Western Europe CEO Adrian Brown this morning. That sees Brown resign from the board, but continuing in his executive role until a successor is found. Brown's final departure date is expected to be somewhere in the second half [...]
What you need to know before the open April 16, 2014 European bourses are expected to open higher today. After a very choppy day yesterday, US markets closed up, despite Russian claims that Ukraine’s “close to civil war”. Weak GDP data from China – growth slowed to 7.4 per cent in the first quarter – could add jitters to markets, though, but there's also UK unemployment [...]
Persimmon forward sales rocket 38pc April 16, 2014 Housebuilder Persimmon has seen its total forward sales revenue climb 35 per cent higher compared to what it was in 2013. The company also has 7,200 new homes sold forward into the private sale market for 2014, 38 per cent ahead of the same point in 2013. The average selling price climbed three per cent [...]
Tesco’s 2013 pre-tax profit drops to £3.05bn April 16, 2014 Tesco, the world's third-largest supermarket, has announced a 6.9 per cent drop in full-year underlying profit before tax, to £3.05bn. Over the next three years, it's hoping to stake a claim as the multichannel, middle-market store. But the question is how easy that'll be in a climate of booming discounters and high-end stores, where consumers [...]
Burberry revenue jumps as new flagship store opens in Shanghai April 16, 2014 Fashion heavyweight Burberry has reported a boost in revenue of 19 per cent to £1.3bn for the six months to 31 March. Retail revenue also rose by 13 per cent to £928m, with comparable sales growth in line with the company's expectations. Burberry saw digital outperform in all regions, while eleven stores were opened including [...]
Asian markets advance after boost to US tech stocks April 16, 2014 Asian shares have been given a boost after US technology stocks led a better performance on Wall Street. Japanese tech and telecoms group SoftBank, enjoyed a strong rise in the wake of a solid earnings report from Chinese affiliate Alibaba. Official data showed the Chinese economy grew at the slowest rate for 18 months in [...]