Digital probe sparks row over broadband as Sky and Talk-Talk press Ofcom to break up BT and Openreach March 12, 2015 A battle between the UK’s largest telecommunications businesses intensified yesterday, as Sky and Talk-Talk pounced on a decision by the regulator to launch a wide-ranging probe into the sector. Both firms ramped up pressure on Ofcom to break up BT from the part of its business – called BT Openreach – that runs the UK’s broadband [...]
Lloyds to bank £1.5bn if TSB sale to Banco Sabadell goes ahead March 12, 2015 Lloyds is set to receive a final total of £1.5bn for TSB if the Banco Sabadell sale goes ahead – twice the £750m for which it had previously agreed to sell the lender to the Co-op Bank. The giant bank was forced to sell off TSB under the terms of its 2008 bailout. The [...]
Argos suffers a post-festive depression March 12, 2015 Argos had little cause for post-festive cheer after sales at the catalogue retailer slumped in the eight weeks to 28 February, it announced yesterday. The retailer experienced weak trading in consumer electronics and said its ongoing programme aimed at improving customer experiences had impacted on footfall. Argos outlined its five-year transformation plan in 2012 with [...]
Hugo Boss sales target scrapped on low spending March 12, 2015 High-end German fashion house Hugo Boss yesterday scrapped its sales target for 2015 because of slower spending in Europe, the US and China, sending its shares lower. Like other companies targeting more affluent customers, Hugo Boss has been hit by lower spending abroad by Russian and Chinese shoppers. Its original revenue target of €3bn (£2.15bn) [...]
Cineworld profits double: Fifty shades of payday for movie theatre chain March 12, 2015 Cineworld’s annual pre-tax profits more than doubled to £67.3m, despite a decline in 2014 box office sales. The UK’s largest cinema chain had revenue up by 52.5 per cent to £619.4m, up from £406.1m, in the 53-week period ending 1 January 2015. Chief executive of Cineworld, Moshe “Mooky” Greidinger, said it had been a hard [...]
Antofagasta in water deal with Los Pelambres mine protestors March 12, 2015 Shares in mining firm Antofagasta were up by 1.36 per cent yesterday, after it announced an agreement had been reached with protestors who were blocking access to its operation at the Los Pelambres mine in Chile. Normal operations are set to resume in the next few days. Protests have been ongoing at the site since [...]
Pedal to the metal at BMW as earnings rise 14pc to £6.5bn March 12, 2015 German car maker BMW yesterday announced that last year’s profit accelerated 14 per cent as its X5 SUV and 2-series Active Tourer compact minivan propelled record sales. Earnings rose to €9.12bn (£6.5bn) from €7.98bn. This beat the €8.89bn average of 25 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Profit widened to 9.6 per cent of revenue from 9.4 [...]
Antibiotics not finger-licking good for KFC as McDonald’s and Costco vow to end sale of drug-raised chickens March 12, 2015 KFC is likely to come under pressure from consumer and environmental groups to change how its poultry are raised after McDonald’s said it would no longer sell chicken raised with human antibiotics. McDonald’s announced last week it will phase out chicken raised with antibiotics for human health over two years to allay concern that use [...]
TSB share price leaps 27 per cent as Lloyds backs £1.7bn takeover talks with Spanish bank Sabadell March 12, 2015 Lloyds appeared to give its blessing to an offer by Spanish Banco de Sabadell for challenger bank TSB this morning, in which it has a 50 per cent stake. TSB said it had been offered 340p in cash per share, about a 30 per cent premium on last night's closing price, valuing the lender at [...]
Alibaba just invested in Snapchat: Four charts showing just how big its new $15bn valuation is March 12, 2015 Everyone’s favourite disappearing messaging app, Snapchat, has raised a new round of funding from Alibaba which values the firm at $15bn (£10bn). It’s a vote of confidence for the four-year-old app, which has just introduced a host of content-driven advertising features in a bid to start generating some revenue. The app picked up $200m from [...]