Yorkshire Building Society Group to close branches and rebrand Barnsley and Chelsea building societies January 27, 2016 Yorkshire Building Society Group (YSB) has announced plans to close a number of branches, as part of changes to two of its high street brands. Barnsley Building Society and Chelsea Building Society branches will both be rebranded Yorkshire Building Society, and in 18 locations where YSB currently has two branches under either of the brands, [...]
Shell share price falls as shareholders vote in favour of Shell and BG Group January 27, 2016 Royal Dutch Shell shareholders gave the oil giant's acquisition of smaller rival BG Group the green light at a general meeting today, paving the way for the biggest energy deal in decades. Analysts had widely expected Shell shareholders to approve the £47bn mega-deal, despite low oil prices stoking concern over value for money. Of those that voted, 83 per [...]
Netflix down in parts of the UK, Europe and the US January 27, 2016 Online TV and film streaming service Netflix is being reported as offline around parts of the UK and Europe. The service is also unavailable in parts of the US. Users have taken to social media to report outages, with the site status checker Down Detector recording problems centred in Northern Europe. Last week a global outage of social [...]
Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman apologises to investors as the hedge fund records its worst ever performance and Paul Hilal resigns January 27, 2016 Bill Ackman, founder and chief executive of Pershing Square, has apologised to investors after his hedge fund recorded its worst ever performance last year. In 2015, the fund made a 20.5 per cent loss, largely thanks to its large holdings in Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The fund's performance compares to an average 1.4 per cent increase in returns from investments in [...]
Peak Apple? Share price plunges 5 per cent on iPhone sales slowdown January 27, 2016 Apple shares have nosedived in early trading following the revelation yesterday that the iconic iPhone would see its first ever decline in sales in the coming quarter. Apple shares plunged 4.97 per cent in the first half hour of US trading, falling to $95.02 as fears of a slowdown for the tech giant have investors [...]
FTSE 100 index closes up ahead of Federal Reserve statement as Sage Group and Glencore surge January 27, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed higher on Wednesday, after having opened lower this morning ahead of the Federal Reserve's statement. The UK's blue-chip index closed 1.33 per cent up at 5,990 points. "Global equity prices continue zigzagging on a muddy route. The oil market remains in bears’ hands above $30," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, market analyst at London Capital Group. [...]
Staffline Group share price up as staffing and training company announces revenue growth and increased dividend in its full year results January 27, 2016 Staffing and training company Staffline Group has today announced revenue of £702.2m, up 40 per cent from £503.2m the year before, for its full year results for 31 December 2015. Although the company saw its profit before tax fall to £5.5m, down 48 per cent from £10.5m the year before, a large chunk of the organisation's expenses [...]
Sage Group share price soars after software company reveals strong revenue growth for three months to December 2015 January 27, 2016 Sage Group today revealed strong revenue growth for the three months to 31 December 2015, with group organic revenue rising by 6.6 per cent. The company, which is well-known for its accounting and payroll software, revealed particularly positive growth for its software subscriptions income stream, for which revenue grew by 35.7 per cent for the first quarter [...]
Owner of Comparethemarket.com, BGL confirms it is looking at an IPO with Rothschild bank January 27, 2016 BGL, the parent company behind price comparison site Comparethemarket.com, is considering floating on the London Stock Exchange. BGL owns Comparethemarket.com, along with other brands including Beagle Street, which provides life insurance, and Dial Direct. Rothschild has been hired to advise the group on the potential float, although no decision has been taken yet. If it does take the company public Budget Holdings Limited [...]
Sirius Minerals share price falls as it pushes back study for York Potash mine January 27, 2016 Shares in Sirius Minerals fell today after the Aim-listed company pushed back a definitive feasibility study for its major potash project in York from this month to March. A definitive feasability study looks at whether a project can be completed given a range of legal, economic, technological and other factors. "The completion of a definitive feasability study for such a [...]