Time to admit that ‘progressive’ sin taxes clobber the poor far more than the rich | City A.M. July 27, 2018 In these strange days, when communism is hip and printing money is seen as wealth creation, no economic fact is so basic that it can be taken for granted. Take regressive taxation, for example. It is a simple concept with a straightforward definition. If a tax takes a greater share of income from the poor [...]
Reckitt Benckiser share price leads FTSE 100 as Mead Johnson acquisition pays off | City A.M. July 27, 2018 Consumer goods firm Reckitt Beckiser raised sales guidance this morning, as it unveiled unexpectedly strong performance in its recently acquired nutrition business. The firm received final approval for its acquisition of Mead Johnson, which makes infant formula brand Enfamil. But it has exceeded expectations in the year since then. The group was leading the FTSE [...]
Pearson profit bolstered by sale of English-language unit as it eyes return to growth | City A.M. July 27, 2018 Profits before tax at Pearson increased to £202m for the first half of this year as the educational publisher said it was on track to return to profit growth later in the year. The figure is an improvement on the £10m loss it made last year. However, Pearson’s total adjusted profits for the first half [...]
Rightmove profits climb despite competition from property portal rival OnTheMarket | City A.M. July 27, 2018 Property giant Rightmove reported a 12 per cent rise in profit in the six months to June, hitting a record number of prospective buyers visiting its online platform. However, shares fell more than three per cent in early morning trading. Pre-tax profit rose to £98m in the first half of the year and revenues climbed [...]
BT’s share price rises as profits jump but sales dip | City A.M. July 27, 2018 BT Group’s share price climbed 3.7 per cent this morning as the telecoms giant revealed pre-tax profit soared, despite revenue dipping in the first quarter. The figures Sales at the telecoms giant dropped to £5.7bn, down from £5.8bn, for the first quarter to 30 June. However pre-tax profit jumped to £704m from £418m. Its monthly [...]
Virtual world games development platform Improbable valuation tops $2bn after securing investment from Chinese giant NetEase | City A.M. July 27, 2018 Chinese tech giant NetEase has ploughed $50m into tech startup Improbable, pushing the value of the London-based virtual world firm to $2bn. The investment took the form of new shares, existing shares and a “small stake” in the company, and will strengthen Improbable’s competitiveness as it supplies game development technology to game-makers in Asia. Improbable, [...]
BP share price slips as firm buys US shale sites from BHP in major oil expansion bid | City A.M. July 27, 2018 BP has bought US shale assets for $10.5bn (£8bn) in a move that will expand Britain’s international oil footprint in onshore basins. In its largest deal in almost two decades, BP has agreed to acquire a swathe of southern US shale oil and gas assets from global miner BHP. The firm said it plans to [...]
Imagine a parallel universe in which Brexit decisions made sense | City A.M. July 27, 2018 Stop banging on about Europe. That was David Cameron’s plea in 2006, in those halcyon days before the term “Brexit” had even been coined. Today, 12 years later, it is difficult to bang on about anything else. Brexit has infiltrated every strand of political discourse. Read more: Brexit secretary admits food will need to be [...]
Amazon (AMZN) doubles down on profits, but misses estimates on revenue | City A.M. July 26, 2018 Amazon doubled consensus estimates on profits in its second quarter, as results released tonight revealed a staggering 1,157.5 per cent increase year-on-year in earnings per share. The company reported shareholder earnings for the quarter at $5.07 (£3.86), outperforming estimates collated by S&P Global Market Intelligence which predicted $2.54. In the same quarter in 2017, Amazon [...]
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: Why don’t Spurs have a naming rights deal? | City A.M. July 26, 2018 Back in October 2008, when Tottenham’s new stadium project was still in its infancy, chairman Daniel Levy addressed the opportunity to sell the naming rights to their proposed new ground. “It’s a necessary and critical component of financing a modern football stadium,” he said. Yet six weeks out from the £850m venue’s official opening, Spurs [...]