Under Armour hits the ground running amid higher-than-expected earnings October 30, 2018 US sportswear firm Under Armour trumped Wall Street expectations today after raising its forecast for annual profits and posting higher-than-expected revenues for the third quarter of 2018. Buoyed by higher overseas sales and fewer promotions, the Baltimore-based company has hiked its full-year adjusted earnings per share forecast to between 19 cents and 22 cents from [...]
Retail sales cool sharply as curtains close on prolonged summer boost October 30, 2018 Retailers suffered a sharp sales downturn in October, as the UK’s prolonged summer spending spree seems to have finally come to an end. The balance of retailers reporting year-on-year growth in sales volumes has slumped to its lowest level in six months, according to a survey out today from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Some [...]
Sony poised to hit record profits in wake of gaming strategy October 30, 2018 Japan’s Sony is projecting record annual profits after riding a wave of demand for several of its most popular recent big-hit games. The technology giant raised its profit forecast by 30 per cent to ¥870bn (£6bn) this morning, with a boom in its Playstation division helping to offset widening mobile phone losses. Such positive projections [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen welcomes Douglas Flint as chairman October 30, 2018 Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) ended its hunt for a new chairman earlier today after hiring industry heavyweight Sir Douglas Flint. The Scottish-born former accountant, who stepped down as chairman of HSBC in September last year, is set to succeed Sir Gerry Grimstone at the start of next year. Last year Flint was also appointed as [...]
Prime Minister rules out another general election after ‘giveaway’ Budget October 30, 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May and chancellor Philip Hammond today ruled out another UK general election a day after revealing what has been dubbed a "giveaway" Budget. May told a press conference in Oslo: "No. We are not preparing for another general election. That would not be in the national interest." Being interviewed on Good Morning [...]
Financial Conduct Authority hits Liberty Mutual Insurance with £5m fine for mobile phone insurance failings October 30, 2018 The Financial Conduct Authority has today fined Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe £5.28m for failures in its mobile phone insurance claims and complaints handling process. Liberty entered into a relationship in the UK with a third party to enable them to provide mobile phone insurance to retail customers. The FCA found that between 2010 and 2015 customers [...]
Bentley could halt production after ‘damaging’ no-deal Brexit October 30, 2018 A no-deal Brexit could be “quite damaging” for Bentley’s annual profit, and may force it to close stop production for a few days, the company’s chief executive said today. Adrian Hallmark said his firm is already stockpiling parts and switching some imports from the port of Dover to Immingham. The carmaker could consider more contingencies [...]
UK company insolvencies jumped nearly 20 per cent in the last quarter October 30, 2018 Company insolvencies leapt 19.3 per cent in the third quarter compared to the same quarter last year. Data from the Insolvency Service shows company insolvencies increased 8.9 per cent in the quarter to the end of September compared to the previous quarter. A total of 4,308 companies entered insolvency in the third quarter, with 3,083 (71.6 per [...]
Eurozone growth falls to slowest pace in four years as Italy’s economy stalls October 30, 2018 Eurozone growth rose by just 0.2 per cent in the third quarter – its slowest pace in more than four years hampered by Italy's economy stalling. Italy's GDP growth fell to zero and the bloc rose by 0.2 per cent compared with the previous quarter despite forecasts it would jump 0.4 per cent. The slow growth [...]
Stablecoins – the cryptocurrency pegged to reality – could save the market October 30, 2018 The last few years have seen the crypto market experience exponential growth, and at the time of writing, it was worth £152bn globally. However, predictions that cryptocurrencies will supplant conventional forms of money have so far proved to be unfounded, as their wild volatility makes them unsuitable for day-to-day use by consumers. But it isn’t [...]