Mothercare share prise rises as retailer hails first underlying UK sales growth in five years May 21, 2015 Shares in Mothercare rose 4.6 per cent yesterday as turnaround efforts under chief executive Mark Newton-Jones continued to pay off, with the retailer reporting its first full-year sales growth in five years. The child and baby products chain has had a tumultous year, in which it had to fend off a takeover offer from a [...]
As non-cash payments overtake hard currency, are we a few years off being a cashless society? May 21, 2015 Dennis Jones, chief executive of Judo Payments, says Yes This development isn’t surprising. One of the key drivers for this is the growth of lower-value transactions being made with cards. TfL alone has seen over 60m contactless transactions in the last six months, which were historically made with cash. And London’s buses are now cash-free [...]
HP second quarter earnings: Share price rises in extended trading after a mixed bag of results May 21, 2015 Hewlett Packard (HP) announced disappointing earnings this afternoon, with revenues missing analysts expectations. Earnings came in at $25.5bn, but analysts had expected earnings of $25.64bn and earnings per share of $0.86. On the latter measure, HP beat the predictions by a penny. Shares rose as much as three per cent in extended trading. Why it’s [...]
Corfu deaths: Thomas Cook says hotel manager and electrician employed in Crete as chief meets with parents of Christianne and Bobby Shepard May 21, 2015 Thomas Cook has revealed Georgios Chrysikopoulos, the general manager of the hotel in Corfu where children Christianne and Bobby Shepard died, has been running another hotel used by the company. The Mitsis Laguna Hotel in Crete employed Chrysikopoulos from 1 April this year. Thomas Cook said it immediately started an investigation and discovered Christos Louvros, [...]
Mothercare’s share price soars as group losses narrow under Mark Newton-Jones turnaround plan May 21, 2015 Mothercare's share price soared more than six per cent this morning as the turnaround under chief executive Mark Newton-Jones takes shape, with group losses narrowing by nearly a third. The figures Underlying pre-tax profits at the childcare retailer soared 37 per cent to £13m for the 52 weeks to March 28. After exceptional items [...]
National Grid profit pulled down as price controls helps energy consumers save May 21, 2015 The figures National Grid suffered a four per cent drop in pre-tax profits to £2.6bn, during a year in which it benefited from a new operating model and new business activities. The firm's share price remained relatively flat this morning, after energy regulator Ofgem announced it was launching an investigation to see if generators provided it [...]
Former Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke was paid £764,000 by the supermarket last year May 21, 2015 Ousted Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke, who had presided over a fall of nearly 30 per cent in Tesco's share price during his three years at the helm of the supermarket, was paid £764,000 by the supermarket last year. Tesco's annual report, published this morning, showed that although he stepped down in September last year, [...]
Banks clobbered by $6bn forex-rigging fine but share prices rise as penalties less severe than expected May 20, 2015 Six of the world’s biggest banks were punished with a mega $5.7bn (£3.7bn) fine by financial watchdogs yesterday after foreign currency traders were found to have rigged prices to rip off customers. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss giant UBS and three US banks – JP Morgan Chase, Citi and Bank of America – [...]
Marks & Spencer smartens up: Marc Bolland says turnaround plan is finally working as profit rises May 20, 2015 Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland was cautiously optimistic yesterday that the high street stalwart had turned a corner towards recovery, as the retailer posted its first profit rise in four years. The retailer, which has been battling to revive its clothing arm, reported a 6.1 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to [...]
Co-op Bank says it is on track to meet Bank of England targets May 20, 2015 The Co-operative Bank said in a first-quarter trading statement yesterday that its turnaround plan is on track. The bank is undergoing changes to de-risk its balance sheet and meet revised deleveraging targets as set by regulators after the Bank of England stress tests last year. The bank completed a £1.5bn residential mortgage securitisation earlier this [...]