Inflation basket of goods: Coffee pods, leggings and nail varnish are in, nightclub entry and CD Roms are out – these are our changing shopping habits according to the ONS March 15, 2016 The party's over. No longer do we head to a nightclub for a weekend blow out leading to entry fees being dropped as a measure of inflation – but a tipple of cream liqueur is now on the menu. George Clooney has something to answer for, as coffee pods like Nespresso are also added to the shopping [...]
Balfour Beatty share price soars as investors cheer chief executive Leo Quinn’s turnaround plan March 15, 2016 Investors have applauded a turnaround plan put into place by construction giant Balfour Beatty’s new boss. Shares in Balfour Beatty closed up 3.93 per cent to 261.6p this afternoon. It came despite the company posting a pre-tax loss of £150m in the six months ended 26 June earlier today. "Six months in, our … transformation programme [...]
Ocado’s share price climbs as sales rise – but order sizes slip March 15, 2016 Ocado may have lost out on a lucrative tie-up with Amazon, but sales are still surging ahead, its latest update shows. The figures Gross group sales at the delivery business – which includes its Morrisons agreement – rose 15.3 per cent to £312.4m in the 12 weeks to 21 February, while retail sales – which includes Fetch and Sizzle [...]
Sainsbury’s share price falls despite posting a sales rise in the fourth quarter as deadline looms for Argos bid March 15, 2016 Sainsbury's is continuing to prove itself the strongest of the big four supermarkets, with total and like-for-like sales up in the fourth quarter as it moves to phase out multi-buy offers entirely. But the business has warned of ongoing challenges in the market as the price wars continue. The figures Total retail sales excluding fuel [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil prices extend losses as oversupply concerns weigh March 15, 2016 Oil prices extended losses from the previous session today, as oversupply concerns clipped the wings of a six-week rally which had stemmed from optimism that the market had bottomed. Rising US stockpiles and Iran's refusal to join an a deal to freeze output at January levels, led by de facto Opec leader Saudi Arabia and [...]
Robot worker specialist Blue Prism announces IPO after raising £21.1m and is now due start trading on Aim on Friday morning March 15, 2016 The robots are coming to the London Stock Exchange, after virtual workforce specialist Blue Prism today revealed it had raised £21.1m ahead of its initial public offering. Shares in the company, which is due to be listed on Aim on Friday under the ticker PRSM, have been given a placing price of 78p. Market capitalisation when the company [...]
Ultimate Products eyes sale or IPO and mandates Shore Capital March 15, 2016 The owners of Ultimate Products, which has the licence to sell Russell Hobbs products to retailers, has hired City advisers Shore Capital to explore a potential sale or IPO of the business. The Manchester-based firm could fetch between £50m and £60m, according to people familiar with the situation. Shore Capital has been asked to explore all [...]
A record $1.34 trillion of property will change hands this year as new capital, investor appetite and geopolitical unrest drives investment March 15, 2016 A record $1.34 trillion of global real estate is expected to change hands this year, as new sources of capital and investor appetite combined with geopolitical unrest and increased uncertainty drives further investment into the sector. Cushman & Wakefield’s Atlas Outlook Report, presented this morning at the annual MIPIM property conference in Cannes, shows that [...]
Has ECB president Mario Draghi’s big bazooka forged a currency war ceasefire? March 15, 2016 It has been a brutal race to the bottom for currencies, with interest rates slashed, the lower bound tested through negative deposit rates, and monetary policy re-written to explore more inventive options. But in the latest chapter, as the ECB gets more abstract, action has swung to credit easing rather than rate cuts, which maybe – just [...]
HR lady calling: Cosmetics company Avon reduces headcount by around 2,500 worldwide as struggling firm sets out new transformation plan, including moving headquarters to UK March 14, 2016 Avon today revealed that it would be cutting its headcount by around 2,500 positions in a bid to transform the struggling cosmetics company. The headcount reduction includes both filled and open positions worldwide. The company revealed that the decision had come as a result of management rethinking the commercial business of the cosmetics giant and [...]