Steady as she goes: Top tips for cautious investors in 2018 January 9, 2018 In the first few days of 2018, markets have surged to all-time highs. Some gutsy investors are throwing caution to the wind by muscling in on these gains, despite warnings that we could see the end of the bull run in the not-so-distant future. You’ve also got investment veterans, such as Brewin Dolphin’s Guy Foster, [...]
Hastings shakes up head honchos as chairman is replaced by chief executive January 9, 2018 The chairman of motor insurer Hastings is to step down and be replaced by the firm's chief executive, it was announced this morning. The shake-up of the firm's top two jobs comes just a day after an unsavoury spat at the AA –which reportedly centred on a tie-up with Hastings – took a turn for [...]
Wizz Air has just announced a new European base in Vienna and 17 new routes for 2018 January 9, 2018 Low-cost Hungarian airline Wizz Air is making Austria its next choice for a base as it plugs $331m (£245m) into setting up in Vienna in June. The carrier said it will establish base operations at Vienna Airport with one Airbus A320 initially, followed by two Airbus A321 aircraft in November. Wizz Air plans to operate [...]
Cabinet reshuffle: Nothing has changed after the day of the blunt spoon January 8, 2018 It had been billed as a day in which Theresa May would settle some grievances, and more than a few ministers would end up licking their wounds. Up to a quarter of the Cabinet were expected to be culled in the first major reshuffle since the supposedly "bloody difficult woman" took the reins. But, as [...]
Consumer debt growth is not a new subprime bubble say FCA and Bank of England economists January 8, 2018 The recent surge in consumer lending to record levels will not be a rerun of the subprime borrowing bubble that crippled the world’s financial system in 2008, according to new research by City watchdogs. Credit growth is not being driven by the borrowers rated as most likely to default, according to a joint article published [...]
What you need to know about this week’s mass rail strikes across South Western Railway, Southern and Greater Anglia January 8, 2018 Commuters may still be smarting from the rail fare rise that greeted them at the start of the year, but there's more misery on the way in the form of a series of strikes next week. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has announced 24-hour walkouts across Northern, Merseyrail, Greater Anglia, Southern, South Western [...]
Aston Martin owner Investindustrial grabs Chelsea-based luxury furniture retailer Oka January 7, 2018 Investindustrial, the Italian private equity owner of Aston Martin, has bought a UK luxury furniture retailer co-founded by Samantha Cameron’s mum. Oka, based in Chelsea, is said to have attracted a cheque for more than £40m from Investindustrial, the Sunday Times first reported. It sells furniture ranging from £32 cushion covers to £3,785 sofas, and [...]
Credit Suisse is shuttering one of its Canary Wharf offices January 5, 2018 Credit Suisse is to pull out of one of its Canary Wharf offices as it ramps up a cost-cutting exercise and culls thousands of jobs. The Swiss banking giant is consolidating its London footprint and plans to reduce headcount in the UK capital to 5,000 by the end of the year. The rationalisation measures are [...]
Boots’ UK stores drag on Walgreen Boots Alliance’s international sales January 4, 2018 Boots' UK stores acted as a drag on the international sales of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter, the pharmaceutical giant said today. Internationally, the retail pharmacy arm of Walgreens Boots Alliance brought in sales of $3.1bn (£2.3bn), an increase of 4.1 per cent year-on-year. On a constant currency basis, sales fell 0.8 per [...]
Saga shakes up travel operations and axes insurance broking chief January 4, 2018 Saga today announced a boardroom shake-up, restructuring travel operations hit by Britain's biggest airline failure. Tour operations and cruises are to be combined and run by new Saga travel chief executive Robin Shaw. Jeanette Linfoot, previously the managing director of tour operations, left at the end of December. Shaw was previously the head of Saga's [...]