What happened to the 3D printing revolution? May 1, 2018 Had you attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas five years ago, you would have found, nestled among the tablet computers and gigantic TVs, dozens of big, glass cubes. These retro-futuristic boxes, often accented in bright, primary colours, contained little robotic arms that swung around in three dimensions, extruding threads of molten resin. This, [...]
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Royal Mint releases special coin to commemorate the royal wedding May 1, 2018 Brits may not be getting a bank holiday for this year’s royal wedding, but that hasn’t stopped the Royal Mint from designing a special coin to “commemorate the momentous occasion”. The £5 coin will be available from 1 May in three versions to mark Prince Harry’s marriage to Meghan Markle on 19 May at Windsor [...]
Sterling falls after UK manufacturing growth continues to slow slashing likelihood of a May rate hike (USDGDP) May 1, 2018 UK manufacturing growth continued to slow in the second quarter, with the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index dropping to a 17-month low of 53.9 in April, down from 54.9 in March. Anything above 50 indicates expansion, and the PMI has signalled expansion in each of the past 21 months, but the reading was [...]
International trade secretary Liam Fox snaps at peers for “thwarting the will of the people” over Brexit vote May 1, 2018 Liam Fox has accused Lords of trying to “thwart the will of the British people”, after the government suffered a major defeat at their hands yesterday. Three amendments were passed by the unelected upper house last night, with one strengthening parliament’s hand if it rejects the final Brexit deal. The amendment, which was supported by [...]
Virgin Money on track to deliver targets as mortgage and credit card balances shoot up May 1, 2018 Virgin Money is on course to hit full-year targets, as strong credit performance continued to drive revenue forward. Releasing its first quarter trading update, shares jumped 3.3 per cent as the firm said gross mortgage lending reached £1.4bn at the start of 2018 while net lending stood at £200m. Mortgages grew by 10.4 per cent [...]
Chemring nabs ex-Royal Navy officer from BAE Systems to take over top job May 1, 2018 The chief executive of defence engineer Chemring is to step down and be replaced a top exec from rival BAE Systems, it was announced this morning. Michael Flowers has announced his decision to retire – his last down serving on the board will be 30 June and he will leave the wider group on 31 [...]
Sainsbury’s growth falls behind big rivals in latest Kantar figures as it eyes Asda merger to halt Tesco’s march May 1, 2018 The latest grocery market share figures out today from Kantar Worldpanel report strong showings from Tesco and Morrisons while Sainsbury’s growth lags behind. The much-discussed Sainsbury’s merger with Asda, confirmed in detail yesterday, would nab a potential share of 31.4 per cent. For the 12th consecutive period, Tesco has grown more than two per cent, [...]
Trump pushes back decision on EU steel and aluminium tariffs May 1, 2018 US President Donald Trump pushed back the potential for a European trade war today as he delayed a decision on imposing steel and aluminium tariffs on American allies by 30 days. Trump will announce his final decision on tariffs against the European Union, Canada and Mexico on 1 June. It follows the President putting a [...]
Investment Association and KPMG team up to warn asset managers on threats of cyber breaches May 1, 2018 The Investment Association is teaming up with big four auditor KPMG to launch a report into cyber resilience for asset management as it launches a key conference in the City today. The trade body for asset managers will bring together law enforcement experts and government agencies to launch the joint report, titled “Building Cyber Resilience [...]
DEBATE: Would the Sainsbury’s-Asda merger be good for consumers? May 1, 2018 | City Talk Would the Sainsbury’s-Asda merger be good for consumers? Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, says YES. Large deals such as these will always result in winners and losers, with suppliers and some of the competition potentially falling into the losers camp. However, it is difficult to see that consumers would be anything other [...]