Smurfit Kappa share price rises after telling shareholders to “take no action” March 7, 2018 Paper packaging giant Smurfit Kappa today urged its shareholders “to take no action” after rejecting a €8.6bn (£7.7bn) hostile takeover approach from rival International Paper. Shares in the Dublin-based FTSE 100 firm rose around three per cent this morning after surging a fifth yesterday. Smurfit announced International Paper’s approach on Tuesday morning, rejecting what it [...]
Goldman Sachs warns London banking staff of impending move to Frankfurt March 7, 2018 Investment bank Goldman Sachs has warned more than a dozen City trading and sales staff that they should be prepared to move to Frankfurt within weeks. City Am understands that the staff set to move are in the bank’s debt capital markets and derivatives teams working on German accounts. They have been given notice that [...]
EU threatens the US with tariff reprisals on Levis, bourbon, peanut butter, cranberries and orange juice as WTO members China and Russia issue warning March 7, 2018 The EU has warned Donald Trump that it will launch tough new levies on US exports of bourbon, peanut butter and motorbikes if he pushes forward with plans to impose steel and aluminium tariffs. Meanwhile 18 WTO members, including China and Russia, have expressed grave concerns about the impact of a potential trade war. The [...]
Woodford-backed Atom Bank grabs £149m as Spanish bank BBVA ups its stake March 7, 2018 Challenger bank Atom, which counts rapper Will.i.am as a board adviser, has today grabbed £149m in its latest capital raising. Atom, which has previously secured backing from investors including Neil Woodford and Toscafund, has already brought in £1.3bn in deposits and lent £1.2bn in residential mortgages and business loans. BBVA, which invested £85.4m and has [...]
Tinder is carrying out a huge company-wide review to close the gender pay gap March 7, 2018 Dating app Tinder said today it will be carrying out a comprehensive review of its compensation structure to assess any pay discrepancy and tackle the gender pay gap. The firm said that it was “determined to play a bigger role in the fight for gender parity in the workforce”, so had commissioned a global consulting [...]
WeWork could move into Debenhams on Oxford Street as retailers seek solutions for excess space March 7, 2018 Debenhams is in talks to rent out space in its Oxford Street flagship store to co-working space provider WeWork, it has emerged. The retailer has put out feelers to find occupants for excess space in its large stores, according to Bloomberg. WeWork has become London’s biggest occupier of office space after rapid expansion in the [...]
Legal & General share price inches up as profits are boosted because the rise in life expectancy is slowing down March 7, 2018 Legal & General today unveiled better-than-expected profits for 2017, and said its dividend would increase by seven per cent. The figures Operating profit rose 32 per cent to £2.1bn from £1.56bn in 2016, while pre-tax profit also increased by 32 per cent to hit £2.1bn, compared with £1.58bn in the previous year. Earnings per share [...]
Paddy Power Betfair clears expectations with revenue jump but braces for Australia regulatory hurdles March 7, 2018 Double-digit revenue growth has strengthened Paddy Power Betfair’s balance sheet ahead of more regulation, the group said this morning. The figures Revenue jumped 13 per cent to over £1.7bn in 2017. Earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) hit £473m, an increase of 18 per cent. With earnings per share up 20 per cent, [...]
Hong Kong Horse Racing Betting Tips: Garlic can leave punters shouting Yeah at Happy Valley March 7, 2018 HONG Kong’s Class 5 events are the equivalent of lowly handicaps in the UK. These races are for horses that are either getting too old – invariably becoming too unpredictable – or are just not very good anymore. The opening contest at Happy Valley is such a race. At first glance, it looks like a [...]
Cybersecurity firm hailed as one of UK’s most successful start-ups edges closer to unicorn status March 7, 2018 A cybersecurity firm that has been lauded as one of the UK’s most successful start ups is close to achieving “unicorn status” four and half years after its launch. Cambridge-based Darktrace, which was set up by a mix of mathematicians and government intelligence experts, started off at a value of £15 through the investment of [...]