John Lewis boss Andy Street apologises for saying “France is finished” October 3, 2014 Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, has one piece of advice for anyone with investments in the country: Get out now. The John Lewis boss described France as "finished", saying it was "sclerotic, hopeless and downbeat", but has since apologised for his comments. According to The Times, Street made the undiplomatic remarks at the [...]
US adds 248,000 jobs as unemployment rate drops to 5.9 per cent October 3, 2014 There was a huge sigh of relief from the US labour market as 248,000 jobs were added in September. The unemployment rate also tumbled by 0.2 percentage points to 5.9 per cent. The 248,000 figure was well up on the 215,000 which many anticipated – and a significant rebound from last month's dismal showing. The [...]
Tesco share price drops yet again as supermarket misery continues October 3, 2014 The misery continues for Tesco as its share price dropped yet again in early morning trading. Tesco shares fell by over two per cent, before recovering slightly to a price of 176.03 pence per share – a 1.8 per cent drop. The supermarket’s stock has taken a pummelling in recent weeks, falling by [...]
EasyJet drives FTSE 100 recovery ahead of US employment report October 3, 2014 The FTSE 100 is up 53 points, ending four days of losses, as EasyJet moved to the top of the pack after hiking its profit forecast for the year. The budget airline expects a full-year pre-tax profit of between £575m and £580m. Previous estimates were for a pre-tax profit of between £545m and £570m. EasyJet [...]
Miller Homes cancels IPO, citing “financial market volatility” October 3, 2014 After Nationwide reported a dip in house prices, Miller Homes has offered more evidence that the housing market may be slowing. The developer has cancelled its IPO, citing market conditions: In light of the recent financial markets volatility, the Shareholders of Miller Group have elected not to proceed at this time with a public offering [...]
Bill Gates: Bitcoin is better than currency October 3, 2014 Bitcoin bugs will be pleased to hear that the world's richest man has had some kind words for the most popular cryptocurrency. In an interview with Bloomberg, Bill Gates said: Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don't have to be physically in the same place, and of course for large transactions currency can [...]
UK service sector activity growth slows in September October 3, 2014 One of the pillars of the recovery has slipped a little. The UK suffered a dip in service sector activity growth this September, with the closely watched Markit Economics purchasing manager's index (PMI) falling to 58.7 from 60.5 in August. The downward move was of a greater magnitude than many had predicted, with the consensus [...]
Drinkers could be offered NHS pill to cut down on alcohol October 3, 2014 Moderate drinkers could soon find themselves being given a £3 pill to help them cut down on their alcohol intake. Those who drink around half a bottle of wine or three pints a day could be prescribed the drug nalmefene. If the plans are given the go-ahead, 600,000 adults could be prescribed the drug, which [...]
76m JPMorgan customer accounts hacked in massive cyber attack October 3, 2014 JPMorgan, America's biggest bank, has been a victim to a major data breach, affecting millions. 76m households and seven million small businesses may have had their private data compromised by the cyber attack which gathered accounts holders' names and addresses. The attack targeted users of the websites Chase.com and JPMorganOnline, and the apps ChaseMobile and [...]
Aldermore IPO to value challenger bank at around £800m October 3, 2014 Aldermore has set a price range for its initial public offering that will value the challenger bank at around £800m. The price for the IPO will be set at between 217p and 265p per ordinary share. Trading is expected to begin as soon as 17 October. The five-year-old bank announced half-year profits of [...]