John ‘Mac the Knife’ McFarlane raises fears with investors that egos will rule the roost at Barclays July 29, 2015 Is there a bank director with a thicker hide than John McFarlane? The tone of yesterday’s interim results from Barclays, which comfortably beat City forecasts, would more ordinarily be accompanied by the praise of a chairman for their chief executive. Instead, the newly installed executive chairman, McFarlane, struggled to find reasons for burying him. The [...]
Taylor Wimpey boosted by General Election as profits rise July 29, 2015 Taylor Wimpey said yesterday it would return more cash to shareholders after pre-tax profit rose by a third to £238m in the first half, boosted by a pick-up in trading following the General Election. Chief executive Peter Redfern said that since May it has seen a significant improvement in consumer confidence and mortgage availability, which [...]
Twitter share price plucked on user growth worries wiping billions from value July 29, 2015 Twitter investors must be spitting feathers. Shares in the social network have swooped 13 per cent lower, wiping several billion from the company's market value, after reporting muted growth in user numbers. “Monthly users grew only 0.7 per cent sequentially to 304m, while US monthly users remained at 65m, showing no growth. Annually, global users [...]
GSK share price rises as it beats expectations – but profits dip July 29, 2015 GSK's shares leaped 3.7 per cent to 1,377p in early afternoon trading after earnings per share beat expectations – despite it taking a hit on Advair. The figures The British pharmaceutical giant's core operating profit for the second quarter fell four per cent to £1.35bn. Net profit fell 77 per cent to £149m compared to the same period last [...]
UK house prices: Rightmove share price jumps as it absorbs business from rivals July 29, 2015 It seems the launch of an estate agent-run portal which forces agents to choose between Rightmove and Zoopla has done no harm to the former, after it reported a 16 per cent rise in revenues during the first half of the year. The figures The housing boom continues to benefit Rightmove: revenues rose to £93.1m in [...]
Sainsbury’s share price edges up as it sells pharmacy business for £125m July 29, 2015 Shares in Sainsbury's rose 0.7 per cent to 261.1p after it announced a deal with the German owner of UK chain LloydsPharmacy to sell its pharmacy business for £125m. Read more: Growth at Co-op for the first time in a year as Tesco and Asda decline yet again As part of the deal, Celesio’s LloydsPharmacy will [...]
This chart shows how many current account switchers Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest have lost July 29, 2015 New rules which make it easier for customers to change current accounts resulted in a four per cent increase to 1.1m switches, compared to 1.06m during in same period a year earlier. The rules, introduced in October 2013, allow customers to switch accounts within seven working days, with all outgoing and incoming payments transferred automatically. [...]
European Central Bank says Twitter can predict which direction stocks are heading July 29, 2015 Market mavens should keep an eye on Twitter if they want to know which direction their stock picks are heading, or at least that's what recently published research conducted by the European Central Bank has found. Researchers crunched over 310,000 tweets between 2010 and 2012 containing the words "bullish" or "bearish" – because these are generally used [...]
John Lewis is opening an in-store beauty spa called &Beauty July 29, 2015 Have we just hit peak middle class? John Lewis has unveiled plans for an in-store beauty spa. After all, what better way to recuperate after a hard day’s shopping? If you get too exhausted from all your purchases, just book yourself in for a relaxing massage… It seems simply going to buy things is no [...]
Pearson in talks to sell Economist Group stake after FT Group sale July 29, 2015 Publisher Pearson is said to be in talks to sell off its 50 per cent stake worth about £400m in the Economist Group to other shareholders. A source told the Financial Times that a deal should be wrapped up at some point this summer and potential buyers include families such as Schroders, the Cadburys and the [...]