Steinhoff increases holding in Poundland as Brexit casts doubts over takeover bid June 28, 2016 South African retail conglomerate Steinhoff has upped its holding in UK discount retailer Poundland. The increase, from 23.26 to 23.52 per cent, comes despite Bensons for Beds owner Steinhoff saying last week the UK vote to quit the European Union had caused it to rethink its recent offer for the company. Steinhoff, a furniture and household goods company with operations across Europe, Africa and Australasia, earlier [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open June 28, 2016 The Brexit rollercoaster is still going full tilt, unbalancing global markets, currencies and politics. Here's what you need to know before the US open at 2:30pm London time. Major US markets are pointing up ahead of the open, with the S&P up by 0.97 per cent in the pre-market. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is up by 0.99 per [...]
Old Mutual becomes the latest company to say it should be able to carry on as planned despite Brexit vote ahead of its AGM June 28, 2016 Old Mutual today became the latest in a string of companies to come forward and say the Brexit vote shouldn't affect its plans. Referring to plans announced earlier this year to split the company into four different businesses, Old Mutual chief executive Bruce Hemphill said: "Increased market volatility following the referendum decision to leave the EU does [...]
Bounceback-ability: How to build personal resilience in a time of change June 27, 2016 With millions of working days lost every year due to illness and injury, it pays as a manager to do what you can to ensure that you and your people are mentally and physically well. It’s the right foundation for making sure that you and your team are well-placed to deal with the set-backs that [...]
At the close: Markets take a clobbering as sterling slides and uncertainty reigns June 27, 2016 Traders and investors were left bloodied by a volatile session on the markets today. The FTSE has closed down 2.55 per cent at 5,982.20, with a fifth of FTSE 100 companies racking up double digit price falls. The internationally focused blue-chip index outperformed mid-caps however as the FTSE 250 – mostly made up of companies that trade in the [...]
Brexit is not proving an asset to these fund managers’ share prices June 27, 2016 London-listed asset managers have been among the companies worst hit by Brexit on the stock market. Schroders’ share price was down by around nine per cent to 2,164p on Monday. This followed a 12 per cent fall from 2,711p on Friday after the results of the vote emerged. [custom id="161"] Elsewhere, Legal and General Group’s [...]
Daphne Koller on Coursera in refugee camps, and why our education systems won’t help us in the future June 27, 2016 If you've never done a MOOC – a massive open online course – you likely know someone who has. Coursera is the biggest provider in the world. Launched just four years ago, it now has almost 20m learners worldwide, in 140 institutions across 28 countries. In the UK, there are over 600,000 users. Co-founder Daphne Koller was [...]
Why we need to get used to having 70 year-old colleagues June 27, 2016 Take a look around most workplaces and you will see clear signs of “age segmentation” – people within the same age group spend most of their working day with each other. In part this is because, traditionally, many people’s working lives could be described as the “three-stage life” – full-time education, followed by full-time working and [...]
Week ahead: Markets set to feel the Brexit burn as uncertainty reigns June 27, 2016 The spotlight will this week continue to be firmly on the implications of the UK’s shock decision to quit the European Union. Markets are expected to be on post-Brexit watch, with twitchy traders nervous over potential volatility. After the vote on Thursday the FTSE 100 dived more than eight per cent at the open on Friday [...]
Brexit vote gives defined benefit pensions yet another battering, as markets swing wildly after Leave decision is revealed June 26, 2016 The vote for Brexit may have driven another nail into the coffin of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, after the markets went into meltdown on Friday. Figures from Hargreaves Lansdown show that around 33 per cent of UK scheme investments consist of shares, 25 per cent of which are UK shares, which will have come as [...]