Disappointing third quarter for UK construction sector November 13, 2015 Construction output in the UK fell 2.2 per cent in the three months to the end of October, compared with the quarter before, figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed today. That figure is exactly what the ONS estimated as part of the UK's pretty disappointing third-quarter GDP figure – but remains very [...]
Legal & General chairman John Stewart to retire next year November 13, 2015 John Stewart, chairman of financial services company Legal & General, is stepping down after six years at the business. In a statement today, Stewart said he will leave next year, once a replacement has been appointed. "We are now coming to a stage where the post-financial crisis work has been successfully delivered: the company is now [...]
Syngenta share price soars on rumours of takeover offer from China National Chemical Corporation November 13, 2015 Shares in Swiss agrichemicals company Syngenta received a big boost this morning, after rumours circulated that it is in takeover talks with China National Chemical Corporation. According to a Bloomberg report, the Chinese state-owned company approached the European firm with an offer of $42bn (£28bn). Although this was rejected because of potential regulatory issues, the companies [...]
Apple closing down Beats Music after Apple Music’s success against rival Spotify November 13, 2015 Apple’s music-streaming service Beats Music is no more, muscled out by the newer and shinier Apple Music. The tech giant announced late last night that Beats Music would be shut down at the end of the month, just six months after Apple Music was launched on trial subscriptions. The new music service attracted 11m subscribers [...]
TalkTalk share price plunges twice as deep as Sony, Carphone Warehouse, Barclays and EBay after cyber attacks November 13, 2015 Investors may have begun flocking back to crisis-struck TalkTalk after better-than-expected quarterly results, but the company’s shares have still plunged twice as deep as other hacked companies. Over 150,000 of the embattled telco firm’s customers had their personal data exposed in a hack that was made public on 22 October. In the weeks that followed, [...]
France GDP: French economy returns to modest growth fuelled by accelerating domestic demand November 13, 2015 The French economy returned to modest growth, as fresh data showed the country’s GDP growing by 0.3 per cent in the third quarter, boosted by accelerating domestic demand. Growth has been fluctuating over the year, to say the least. After surprising economists by ballooning out by 0.7 per cent in the first three months of [...]
FTSE 100 index opens down on G4S, Rolls-Royce and Glencore November 13, 2015 The FTSE 100 opened marginally lower this morning, led by falls in G4S and Rolls-Royce, while miners regained some ground. The UK's top blue-chip index was down 0.32 per cent at 6,158 points, led by security company G4S, which opened 3.18 per cent down at 228.9p per share after it was downgraded by a broker. "G4S [...]
German growth slows as GDP edges up 0.3 per cent in third quarter November 13, 2015 The German economy grew just 0.3 per cent in the third quarter, an estimate published today showed – down from 0.4 per cent in the previous quarter. Although the figure met economists' expectations, it was nonetheless disappointing for those hoping for a stronger performance. Destatis, Germany's official statistics body, said that while final consumption expenditure [...]
Tech firm Softcat prices London Stock Exchange IPO at 240p a share November 13, 2015 UK IT infrastructure and services provider Softcat has priced its IPO at 240p a share, giving the firm a value of £472.3m, a month after announcing its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange. Softcat’s flotation will raise £153.4m, which could rise as high as £176.4m if additional shares are sold. Conditional dealings will [...]
British Bankers’ Association: London is losing its edge as a financial centre November 13, 2015 London is losing its edge as an international banking centre, a new report out today has warned, saying that “urgent action is needed if the UK is to remain an attractive location for foreign banks and provide a competitive business environment for UK wholesale banks to challenge overseas”. The report, produced by the British Bankers’ [...]