Alphabet soup? Here’s what the new Google looks like August 12, 2015 No wonder Google bosses felt they needed to make the structure of the company a little more, well, structured. The span of the less than two-decades-old company is dizzying. The arrival of new finance chief Ruth Porat bringing new, and very experienced, eyes to the business may have spurred a clearer line for reporting earnings [...]
Former Co-operative Bank execs to face regulator scrutiny August 12, 2015 The Co-operative Bank may have avoided paying a financial penalty for its “serious and wide-ranging failings” between 2009 and 2013, but it is expected that the firm’s former management will face fines and punishments in the months ahead. The Bank of England’s prudential regulation authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said yesterday [...]
Card Factory set to return cash to investors as new stores boost sales August 12, 2015 Budget greetings card chain Card Factory announced yesterday that it plans to return cash to shareholders after the opening of new stores and a relaunch of its website helped boost sales in the first half. The Wakefield-based retailer said total sales grew by eight per cent in the six months to 31 July thanks to [...]
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway risks downgrading by Standard & Poor’s after Precision Castparts deal August 11, 2015 Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway risks being downgraded by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, after its record deal to buy aerospace manufacturer Precision Castparts. The acquisition worth $37.2bn has caused S&P to worry about Berkshire Hathaway’s cash resources, putting it on "CreditWatch Negative". The company is currently rated "AA", the third-highest of 10 possible ratings. Read [...]
Prudential delivers higher profit as Asia business keeps growing August 11, 2015 Prudential yesterday reported a 17 per cent increase in operating profits in Asia during the six months to 30 June, soothing City fears that the firm’s exposure to China would affect its performance. The financial services company’s operating profits from its Asian business totalled £632m for the first half of the year. Prudential announced a [...]
How Google is breaking the rules of corporate branding to get its Alphabet to pay off August 11, 2015 Google’s creation of its Alphabet parent is a future-looking, ambitious strategy that few others would have the boldness to do. But it’s bold for a reason: creating new challenges for Alphabet to make it a real success. What Google is doing breaks the normal rules of corporate branding. Read more: Three things you should know [...]
Google share price U (for up) after Alphabet restructure August 11, 2015 Wall Street's more than happy with Google's restructuring move. Google shares, or Alphabet shares as they should now be known, opened more than five per cent up continuing the trend in after-hours trading following Larry Page's blog post revealing the new company vision. Investors are likely pleased that the move brings more transparency to the [...]
Why everyone should stop panicking about Berkeley Group boss Tony Pidgley’s £23m bonus August 11, 2015 Yesterday’s revelation that Tony Pidgley – founder, chairman and general grandfather figure at housebuilding giant Berkeley Group – is about to net himself £23m-odd in bonus payouts has created something of a storm. There’s no denying it’s a vast sum: it puts Pidgley above Wayne Rooney in the pay scale, making him the second [...]
Milking it: Morrisons launches premium brand to “directly” support dairy farmers August 11, 2015 Morrisons is looking to herd off criticism from dairy farmers over the price of its milk by launching a new brand that it claims will “directly” support the trade. Morrisons Milk for Farmers will launch this autumn, sitting alongside the supermarket's standard range. This brand however will cost 10p per litre more than [...]
Game Digital puts profit warning behind it despite slowdown in console sales August 11, 2015 It has been almost two years since the launch of Sony’s latest console, the PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Microsoft’s Xbox One and after the initial sale frenzy, demand is now cooling, according to Game Digital. The video games retailer said revenues at its hardware division were hit by a near 20 per cent drop in [...]