Vodafone chief exec Vittorio Colao clashes with BT over “re-monopolisation” of telecoms market November 10, 2015 Vodafone’s chief exec Vittorio Colao has gone head to head with BT, lashing out at the upcoming BT-EE merger, which he attacks as the “re-monopolisation” of the telecoms market. “We see attempts to re-monopolise European markets, and that isn’t good,” said Colao. His attack follows the by the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) provisional approval of the £12.5bn [...]
New Look on trend and first half sales jump November 10, 2015 New Look has hailed a jump in first half sales and profits, as the fast fashion chain stepped up its expansion in China and launched its first standalone menswear stores in the UK. The retailer, which was snapped up by South African retail mogul Christo Wiese in June, said sales at stores open more than [...]
Credit Suisse boss Tidjane Thiam sees possibility of “traumatic” market event as interest rates go up November 10, 2015 Credit Suisse chief exec Tidjane Thiam, who joined the company from Prudential this year, has warned of the likelihood of a “traumatic event” in global markets once interest rates start to creep up from record lows. “Frankly, it’s quite likely that there will be at the end of all this period a relatively traumatic event,” [...]
Divergent monetary policy from the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve sends euro to seven-month low against the dollar November 10, 2015 The euro fell 0.6 per cent against the dollar to $1.0682, sliding to a fresh seven-month low against a backdrop of increasingly divergent monetary policy from the European Central Bank (ECB) and US Federal Reserve. Yesterday four ECB government council members hinted a consensus is forming at the Bank to take one of its benchmark interest rates deeper into negative [...]
Valeant chief executive Michael Pearson feels “very good” about next year amid pricing turmoil November 10, 2015 Despite mounting allegations against Valeant over its drug pricing, chief executive Michael Pearson feels “very good” about 2016. In a call with investors today, he said that while the Canadian drug company's dermatology unit will experience “significant impact” from the termination of its contract with pharmacy group Philidor, it will soon begin “regaining momentum”. I don't [...]
UBS got it wrong: There’s no such thing as a London house price bubble November 10, 2015 Is London’s residential property market in a bubble? UBS seems to think so, after its Global Real Estate Bubble index suggested the UK's housing market is on the brink of a crash. But has it got its facts right? After all, the devil is really in the detail – and this was put together by [...]
Tullow Oil’s share price is now losing ground after gains yesterday November 10, 2015 After having rallied as much as 17 per cent in Monday's trading, Tullow Oil's share price is today one of the biggest losers on the FTSE 250. In late morning trading Tullow Oil was trading 5.13 per cent down at 216.40p. Yesterday Tullow Oil's share price reached 258.55p per share. Read more: Tullow Oil's share price [...]
EU referendum: UBS chairman Axel Weber says Brexit wouldn’t undermine the City November 10, 2015 UBS chairman Axel Weber dismissed concerns about Britain leaving the European Union this morning, saying that a so-called Brexit was unlikely to be a big blow to London’s status as a leading financial hub. “I don’t think it would completely undermine the financial sector of London," Weber said, adding that he thought a Britain outside the European Union would be able to [...]
We’d rather discuss age and gender in the office than race, as incidences of racial harassment in the workplace rise November 10, 2015 When it comes to touchy subjects in the office, it turns out talking about race makes us more uncomfortable than discussing age or gender. In a survey by Business in the Community (BITC) of 24,457 UK employees, 37 per cent said they thought their colleagues would be comfortable discussing race, compared to 44 per cent [...]
National Grid moves to assure over power crunch this winter November 10, 2015 National Grid has sought to assure British households that it will be able to keep the lights on this winter. The company's chief executive Steven Holliday said that historically, between 2003-2008, it issued around seven alerts a year. "We have got used to a lower amount, but if we went back to those levels it is not necessarily something [...]