Some investors are clearly living in a parallel universe April 30, 2019 Having watched the phenomenal “Avengers: Endgame” this weekend (no spoilers here), I did take a moment to think about parallel universes. To put it bluntly, it doesn’t take a genius like Tony Stark to work out that many market commentators are living in a parallel universe – that is, they can’t remember what happened 20 [...]
Can Just Eat deliver the City what it wants? April 29, 2019 On Wednesday morning most eyes in the City will be on Mike Coupe, the Sainsbury’s chief executive battling to keep his job. In the firm’s Holborn HQ the grocery veteran will set out his Plan B after the UK competition watchdog crushed his dreams of a merger with Asda. Read more: Shortsellers increase bets against [...]
MPs to ramp up pressure on Asda over ‘appalling’ wage shake-up plans April 29, 2019 Asda is set to face fresh pressure from politicians this week amid accusations that new pay proposals could leave thousands of workers financially worse off. Read more: Watchdog kills Sainsbury's-Asda merger: What went wrong? A campaign addressed to Asda demanding the grocery giant rows back on "unscrupulous contract changes" is set to be backed by a [...]
Visa and Mastercard agree deal with EU to cut card fees April 29, 2019 Mastercard and Visa have agreed to slash the fees charged for payments within the EU using debit and credit cards issued in a foreign country, the European competition watchdog said today. Multilateral exchange fees that are charged to retailers will be cut by around 40 per cent , which will “significantly reduce the costs for [...]
Board to hold crunch meeting over Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia restructure tomorrow April 29, 2019 Bosses at Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia are reportedly set to discuss the fate of the troubled fashion firm at a crunch meeting tomorrow. Read more: Sir Philip Green appoints restructuring specialists to Arcadia's board The future of the fashion tycoon’s retail chain, which includes brands such as Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, is set to be [...]
Shortsellers increase bets against Just Eat amid competition from Uber and Deliveroo April 29, 2019 Hedge funds have ramped up their bets against FTSE 100 giant Just Eat in recent months as they look to cash in on shareholder disruption and a slowdown in growth at the online takeaway player. The food delivery firm, which has been facing investor unrest in recent months as it fights to protect its market share against the [...]
Sainsbury’s launches UK’s first till-free grocery store April 29, 2019 Sainsbury’s is launching the UK's first till-free store at its Holborn Circus branch to allow customers to pay through their phones. Customers can use the Smartshop app to scan groceries as they go round the store, pay in the app and scan a code before leaving to confirm payment. Read more: DEBATE: Will the UK [...]
Avengers: Endgame smashes worldwide box office record, taking $1.2bn in debut weekend April 29, 2019 The newest Marvel film has beaten box office records with a huge $1.2bn (£929m) around the world in opening ticket sales. Read more: Avengers, Assemble: the business lessons to learn from Marvel's superheroes Avengers: Endgame, which opened in the UK on Thursday, has beaten the record set by the previous film in the Marvel superhero [...]
Hostelworld booking growth slows as firm implements turnaround plan April 29, 2019 Travel booking site Hostelworld reported slowing bookings growth as the firm implements a plan to return to profit. Gross bookings grew four per cent, the company said in its annual report this morning, however overall group bookings were flat due to the managed decline on the group’s supporting brands offsetting the growth in the Hostelworld [...]
Prime retail rents slip for embattled high street landlords April 28, 2019 Troubles for high street landlords deepened in the first three months of 2019, as tough trading conditions and store closures pushed down rents on prime retail properties. Read more: Laura Ashley shares hit all-time low as fashion retailer sounds alarm Rents at prime high street shops fell one per cent in the first quarter of [...]