Home Retail Group’s DIY chain Homebase eyed up by French suitor for takeover bid December 6, 2015 Takeover interest in Home Retail Group’s Homebase is heating up amid reports that a French rival is eyeing a bid for the DIY chain. Leroy Merlin, the French home-improvement and gardening retailer with stores in 13 countries, is said to have examined a bid for the group. It is unclear whether the Family-owned group is [...]
Storm Desmond Carlisle floods close United Biscuits’ McVities factory as army drafted in and Cobra meeting called to handle flood fallout December 6, 2015 The Carlisle factory of United Biscuits, maker of McVities chocolate digestives and other biscuits, has flooded after storm Desmond wreaked chaos across the north of England. Read more: Insurers already ready for bad weather and Storm Desmond The factory in Church Street, Caldewgate is flooded by water more than a metre high, and staff have been told to remain at home, according to reports. [...]
Bank of England approves 19 insurers’ solvency II models for capital ratios ahead of EU 2016 rules, including Aviva, Prudential and Lloyds of London December 6, 2015 Several of Britain's biggest insurance firms, including Aviva, Prudential and Lloyds of London have been given the thumbs up by the Bank of England for new rules governing how much capital they should hold. The Solvency II capital rules which come into force across the EU from the start of next year, mean insurers are able [...]
Merry Christmas: Barclays could cut another 20 per cent of investment bank jobs December 4, 2015 Barclays is planning to cut another 20 per cent of jobs at its investment bank, it has been reported. The bank has already announced 7,000 job cuts at its investment bank, but these are thought to be on top of that. Last year it slashed 2,500 jobs, and expects to make a similar number of [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index closes down as miners suffer losses December 4, 2015 The FTSE 100 index closed down today, led lower by miners, while tourism stocks also dropped. The UK's top blue-chip index closed 0.59 per cent down at 6,238 points, marking four successive days of losses and the first weekly decline in three weeks. Miners wiped out gains they made earlier in the day, with Glencore closing 3.25 per [...]
JD Wetherspoon share price rises despite warning customer details stolen in cyber attack December 4, 2015 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has said that the personal details of more than 650,000 customers may have been stolen in a cyber attack, and a small portion of this included credit card data. For the majority of customers no financial data was stolen, and no passwords were obtained. However, the last four digits of around 100 customers' credit [...]
Uber’s rivals Ola, Didi Kuaidi, Lyft and GrabTaxi gang up on the rideshare app with “global alliance” December 4, 2015 Four of Uber's biggest competitors are ganging up on the cab hailing app, in a global alliance which they say will reach nearly half of the world's population. Taxi-hailing apps Ola, Didi Kuaidi, Lyft and GrabTaxi said they plan to start rolling out joint partner products in the first quarter of next year. Read more: Uber isn't breaking the law Uber has [...]
Uber’s $62.5bn valuation means it’s worth more than BT, Prudential and Barclays – and 86 other FTSE 100 constituents December 4, 2015 Uber is reported to have filed paperwork outlining plans to raise as much as $2.1bn (£1.4bn) in its latest funding round. Were the company to complete that funding round (and according to the Bloomberg report, the wheels are very much in motion for that to happen – with Tiger Global Management and T Rowe Price both [...]
Volkswagen UK market share plummets after emissions scandal as new UK car registrations rise December 4, 2015 Volkswagen sales in the UK fell 20 per cent in November, compared with last year, figures by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have shown – while the number of new cars sold in the UK rose. The embattled carmaker, which has been hit after it emerged software installed in some of its diesel engines allowed [...]
Berkeley Group share price rockets as it unveils an even more ambitious dividend target December 4, 2015 Shares in housebuilder Berkeley Group jumped more than six per cent this morning, after the housebuilder announced plans to raise its dividend target to £16.34 per share by 2021. In a statement this morning, the housebuilder's founder, Tony Pidgley – who won the Business Personality of the Year award at last month's City A.M. awards – said the [...]