Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct confirms House of Fraser acquisition | City A.M. August 10, 2018 Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has bought House of Fraser for £90m. The acquisition includes all the UK stores, the brand and all the stock. It comes after the department store chain announced this morning that it is to appoint administrators after it failed to find a solvent solution. The price represents a heavy discount for [...]
Lira collapses, dragging European stocks down, as pound falls to 13-month low against dollar | City A.M. August 10, 2018 The Turkish lira has fallen to a new record-low this morning, as much as 12 per cent in one day, amid the souring of diplomatic relations with the US and a deepening monetary policy crisis. The currency, which had already fallen 40 per cent, has suffered its most dramatic day so far this year, falling [...]
Butlin’s admits personal data of 34,000 customers may have been breached | City A.M. August 10, 2018 Leisure firm Butlin’s today admitted that thousands of guest records may have been accessed by an unauthorised third party in a serious data breach. The company told guests that payment details had not been compromised. However, the booking reference numbers, lead guest names, holiday arrival dates, postal and email addresses and telephone numbers in 34,000 [...]
House of Fraser appoints administrators EY after talks fail | City A.M. August 10, 2018 House of Fraser is calling in EY as administrators after talks with investors and creditors had “not concluded in a solvent solution”. In a statement to the Luxembourg Stock Exchange the department store said administrators had confirmed that the business would continue trading, including all stores and offices, while they attempted to complete a sale. [...]
Five Premier League transfer window trends: Costly keepers and mid-table sprees but spending falls for first time this decade | City A.M. August 9, 2018 With a flurry of left-field deals rather than a slew of blockbuster signings, the summer transfer window closed for English clubs yesterday. These are the key trends. Spending down For the first summer since 2009, aggregate spending among Premier League clubs fell year-on-year. Having obliterated records with a £1.4bn outlay in 2017, the 20 clubs [...]
How Premier League clubs are using social media in global football supporter arms race | City A.M. August 9, 2018 Premier League teams may be about to resume hostilities this weekend, but away from the field on social media the battle for supremacy never went away. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Weibo have emerged as key frontiers for clubs from the world’s most high-profile competition as they aim to attract an increasingly global supporter base. And [...]
The Galaxy Note 9, a smart speaker, and a partnership with Spotify: Here’s what happened at Samsung’s Unpacked event | City A.M. August 9, 2018 A new phone, a new watch, a new speaker. Samsung unveiled some fresh shiny things for you to spend your money on at its Unpacked event in New York this afternoon, and here’s a breakdown of the bits you need to know. The Galaxy Note 9 So the 6.4-inch Galaxy Note 9 underwhelmed most Samsung [...]
Trevor Steven’s Premier League preview: Manchester City will see off Liverpool in a two-horse title race and Arsenal could surprise everyone | City A.M. August 9, 2018 With the World Cup long forgotten already all focus has switched back to the Premier League and, like everyone, I’m hugely looking forward to the new season starting this weekend. It’s the best league in the world and that’s not just my view – Chelsea’s new boss Maurizio Sarri has said it himself. People want [...]
New York City hits the brakes on all new drivers for Uber and Lyft | City A.M. August 9, 2018 New York City’s local council has pressed pause on granting new licences to ride-hailing firms for one year, blaming companies such as Uber and Lyft for the city’s congestion problems. The package of measures outlined by the city’s mayor Bill de Blasio overnight also includes setting a minimum wage for drivers, after the New York [...]
Russia plans retaliatory measures against ‘categorically unacceptable’ Novichok sanctions as rouble tumbles | City A.M. August 9, 2018 Russia is planning retaliatory measures against sanctions imposed by the US over the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal, which caused the rouble to fall to its lowest level since November 2016 this morning. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said this afternoon that Moscow was starting to work on measures following Washington’s decision to impose [...]