Margin pressure and bad weather take a slice out of Pizza Express profits but overall sales grow August 29, 2018 Pizza Express unveiled what it called a "resilient" performance today, despite pressure on margins driving down profits. The restaurant chain, which is owned by Chinese private equity group Hony Capital, has faced cost pressures as well as a significant impact from this year's changeable weather. The figures Group turnover in the 26 weeks to the beginning [...]
London house prices face further falls as experts warn of no-deal Brexit August 29, 2018 London house prices could fall a further 1.6 per cent this year, according to a new Reuters poll that signals more trouble to come for the capital’s sluggish housing market. In a survey of 30 housing market specialists, house prices in London are projected to tumble 1.6 per cent by the end of 2018 and a [...]
Turkish lira slumps further after banks downgraded August 29, 2018 The Turkish lira has slumped further against the dollar after ratings agency Moody's downgraded banks yesterday evening, amid a dispute between President Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump. The currency weakened to 6.4 lira to the dollar early this morning, its weakest since 15 August, and had dipped as low as 6.37 before recovering [...]
RMT union to launch three-day strike on South Western Railway from Friday August 29, 2018 A three-day strike will hit the embattled South Western Railway (SWR) this weekend, as the RMT union's industrial action over the role of guards continues into September. The strike will begin on Friday from midnight and end at midnight on Sunday this weekend. Strikes will also take place at the same times on Saturday 8 [...]
Northern Ireland can’t afford to wait any longer for a government August 29, 2018 Northern Ireland has taken centre-stage in Westminster over the past year. The Irish border forms a crux of the Brexit debate, and there’s also the small matter of the confidence-and-supply arrangement the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has formed to prop up the Conservative government. However, there’s an even more pressing political story over the Irish Sea [...]
From Venezuela to East Berlin, people will always choose capitalism over socialism August 29, 2018 How many people across the world in the history of humanity have fled from a capitalist country to a socialist one? There was much amusement at the height of the long miners’ strike of 1984/85. A National Union of Mineworkers official from Yorkshire, a crony of Marxist trade unionist Arthur Scargill, sought sanctuary in the Stasi-controlled [...]
ITV is right to launch a new streaming service, but it needs to make good content as well August 29, 2018 ITV’s plans to join forces with its fellow public service broadcasters BBC and Channel 4 to combat the growing threat from Netflix, Amazon, and other US streaming service giants may have seemed like too little too late. However, given the success of ITV’s current video offering – the ITV Hub – which has had a bumper [...]
The subscription economy may be the future for businesses, as firms switch to selling outcomes rather than products August 29, 2018 When was the last time you actually bought a DVD or CD? Most likely, you subscribe to a digital streaming service, like Netflix or Spotify. Congratulations, you’re part of the burgeoning subscription economy. But this subscription-based economy isn’t just limited to entertainment media. Increasingly, both individual consumers and big businesses are finding it more convenient [...]
We have a duty to protect the internet, so invest in cybersecurity to safeguard our digital world August 29, 2018 Responsible investment is nothing new. However, in recent years we have seen increased attention being placed on ethical frameworks for investment. The rapid growth in signatories to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment highlights the recognition of the challenges that modern corporates and their investors face. Challenges such as climate change or a lack [...]
Richoux shares drop as restaurant group raises extra funds August 29, 2018 Restaurant group Richoux has announced a plan to raise £1.1m through a share subscription as it faces "continued pressure" from headwinds in the casual dining industry. Shares in the Aim-listed company dropped more than 14 per cent in early trading after the announcement. The group, which also includes the brands Villagio, Friendly Phil's, Zintino and [...]