Steel crisis: World’s largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal taps investors for $3bn February 5, 2016 The world's largest steelmaker has been forced to ask its investors for a $3bn (£2bn), as it suffers from the Chinese industry's overcapacity which is blames for driving down steel prices. ArcelorMittal, which is based in Luxembourg, reported core profit dropped 32 per cent last year to $5.2bn and warned the result this year would only be "in excess [...]
Amazon to launch physical bookstore? Why the etailer has done a 180 on bricks and clicks February 5, 2016 With the news that Amazon is set to open 400 book stores in the US, some could say it’s taking the ‘old fashioned’ route to retail that it had originally disrupted. What are the drivers? One word: leisure. While convenience has become a modern shopping fixation – with brands feeding it constantly, creating new and smarter [...]
Three-O2 deal: Virgin Media urges Europe to allow £10.5bn merger as Vodafone blasts Hutchison’s price freeze pledge February 5, 2016 Virgin Media has come out in support of the proposed £10.5bn deal between Three and O2, even as rival Vodafone blasts it as “re-monopolisation” of the telco market. Virgin is calling on the EU’s competition watchdog to approve the deal, following pledges made yesterday to open up the combined network to other players. A deal [...]
Just Eat takes a bite out of businesses in Italy, Spain, Mexico and Brazil February 5, 2016 Just Eat has taken a bite out of online takeaway rivals in Spain, Italy, Brazil and Mexico. The four businesses – La Nevera Roja in Spain, PizzaBo/HelloFood in Italy, Hello Food Brazil and Hello Food Mexico – cost the UK-listed firm €125m (£94.7m), which will be funded from cash resources, and gives Just Eat huge reach as it [...]
BG Group scraps final dividend as earnings take a pounding from low oil prices ahead of Shell merger February 5, 2016 As with BP and Shell, BG Group's results were heavily affected by lower commodity prices, with earnings sharply down. The figures BG Group reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for 2015 of $5.63bn (£3.87bn), down 39 per cent on the year before. Meanwhile, earnings before interest and tax took an even harder hit, down [...]
Dunedin private equity backs asset management adviser to fund expansion February 5, 2016 Private equity company Dunedin has invested £80m in specialist asset management adviser Alpha Financial Markets Consulting, City A.M. has learned. The consultancy plans to use the investment to expand its operations internationally and in the UK. Alpha’s chief executive Euan Fraser said: “Our plans for the future are no less ambitious and we look forward [...]
High street sales bounce back in January – but only in first two weeks as shoppers go bargain hunting February 5, 2016 High street sales bounced back in January after a disappointing Christmas when sales recorded their worst performance for December since 2008. Like-for-like sales grew by 1.4 per cent year-on-year sales in January, mainly driven by a strong performance in the first two weeks when consumers shopping the sales came out in force, according to BDO’s high street [...]
Lionsgate Entertainment share price falls in after-hours trading as its third quarter earnings miss expectations February 4, 2016 Shares in Lionsgate Entertainment, the production company behind The Hunger Games, fell in post-market trading today after its revenue disappointed in the third quarter. The company reported earnings fell to $0.27 per share in the third quarter ended December 31st, missing analysts' estimates for $0.47 per share, and down from $0.66 during the same period [...]
News Corp relies on digital real estate business to bolster revenues as news division faces challenges over print advertising February 4, 2016 Media group News Corp has reported revenue of $2.16bn (£1.48bn) for the three months to 31 December, down from $2.26bn in the same period of 2014. Earnings per share also dropped, to $0.20 compared with $0.30 a year earlier. The company, which owns News UK, Dow Jones, the New York Post and Harper Collins Publishers, among [...]
LinkedIn share price tanks as it misses earnings forecasts February 4, 2016 LinkedIn shares plummeted in after-hours trading last night, after its outlook and earnings guidance left investors sorely disappointed, despite its membership growing to a whopping 414m users in the fourth quarter. Users are also more likely to find a job on the professional networking website, with the number of jobs advertised doubling compared with a [...]