Turkey stuffing: The lira continues to plummet against the dollar on disappointing trade data January 11, 2017 Turkey’s lira has fallen to fresh record lows as the currency continues its precipitous decline over the course of the last year. The lira hit lows of 3.8951 lira to the dollar on Tuesday amid more signs of weakness in the Turkish economy. The dollar had strengthened 1.71 per cent against the lira at the [...]
One Nine Elms has finally appointed a contractor after its bust-up with Balfour January 11, 2017 Chinese property giant Dalian Wanda said today that it had appointed a new contractor for its £1bn One Nine Elms project, after it fell out with its first choice. In November it emerged the company had failed to agree terms on the main build contract with Balfour Beatty, a pair of towers rising to 58 storeys which will [...]
Sainsbury’s shares surged this morning on news of sales growth over Christmas – here’s how retail experts reacted January 11, 2017 Sainsbury's shares have surged by six per cent this morning after it reported a record Christmas week for trading. The supermarket said like-for-like retail sales went up 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, and while this might not be as impressive as Morrisons' 2.9 per cent growth, reported yesterday, investors were still cheered by the update. [...]
Italy’s Ferrero defends its use of palm oil after a European group said it could cause cancer January 11, 2017 Nutella maker Ferrero has spoken out in support of the palm oil industry after a European agency said the ingredient poses a cancer risk. The Italian chocolate makers launched an advertising campaign to defend their use of the oil, which others in Italy are boycotting, Reuters reported. Using substitutes like sunflower oil would change the character of the hazelnut [...]
House of Fraser cashes in on Christmas sales January 11, 2017 House of Fraser capitalised on the Black Friday and Boxing Day week sales in November and December, boosting its like-for-like sales by 2.7 per cent in the festive period. The department store said that during its six-day Black Friday sales event, total sales increased 2.7 per cent on the same period the year before. Unsurprisingly, a hefty [...]
Cobham shares plummet after missing targets and culling dividend January 11, 2017 Cobham shares tanked nearly 20 per cent this morning after culling its dividend in the wake of annual results that will miss targets. In a trading update, the engineering giant said it expected profit of £245m, below the previous guidance of £255m-£275m. [stockChart code="COB" date="2017-01-11 08:46"] "The detailed year end close and audit is ongoing but is not [...]
Taylor Wimpey lays strong foundation ahead of bumpy year with earnings at the upper end of expectations January 11, 2017 Taylor Wimpey says it expects full-year profits at the “upper end of market consensus”, as the housebuilder remains confident of its ability to continue dividend payments – although its order book for 2017 weakened from last year. The figures Earnings are expected at the top end of the £706.4m to £755m range Taylor Wimpey has [...]
Foxtons shares have fallen again as the mean streets of London continued to take their toll January 11, 2017 Estate agent Foxtons said tougher stamp duty rules and harsh trading conditions in London caused earnings to almost halve last year. The figures In a trading update this morning, Foxtons said revenues hit £133m in the year to the end of December, down from £150m the year before. Meanwhile, quarterly revenues fell to £26m, from £35m the year before. Adjusted earnings before interest, [...]
RMT is balloting London Underground staff for more strike action January 11, 2017 RMT has announced it will be balloting London Underground (LUL) staff for more strike action "over a breakdown in industrial relations". The union also pointed to "numerous breaches of agreed machineries and agreements by LUL management". These include "not consulting or negotiating with RMT over reduced staffing levels within fleet", and "breaching our agreement on Night [...]
Sainsbury’s reports £1bn group sales over Christmas week as sales edge up January 11, 2017 Sainsbury’s enjoyed a record Christmas week with over £1bn in sales across the group, with quarterly sales managing to edge up after analysts expected further contraction. The figures Like-for-like retail sales excluding fuel grew by 0.1 per cent over the third quarter of its trading year, and total retail sales grew by 0.8 per cent [...]