Ladbrokes share price soars despite profits plunging 56.7 per cent October 22, 2015 Ladbrokes' share priced soared up 8.43 per cent in trading today, despite reporting that profits for the last three months more than halved to £14.3m thanks to an increased marketing spend. The betting company announced it was spending more than 30 per cent of its net revenue on advertising to increase its customer base, which [...]
Eurotunnel posts three per cent rise in revenues in spite of Calais migrant chaos October 22, 2015 Eurotunnel, the company which operates the Channel tunnel reported rail traffic plummeted by a third over the three months to the end of September, thanks to “intense migrant pressure” disrupting operations in Calais. From July to September just 459 freight trains used the tunnel, down from 681 a year ago, and tonnage tumbled 27 per cent. [...]
Eurozone consumer confidence is coming off the boil October 22, 2015 Consumer confidence in the Eurozone edged further down this month, according to survey figures released today by the European Commission (EC). The EC's monthly barometer of consumer confidence slipped 0.6 points to a "flash" score of minus 7.7. Flash scores are estimates made before all the data has been collated. Despite the drop, confidence levels remain high compared with [...]
European Central Bank to re-examine monetary stimulus in December as it holds key interest rates October 22, 2015 The euro tumbled against the pound this afternoon, after European Central Bank (ECB) boss Mario Draghi hinted an even bigger "bazooka" could be fired at the Eurozone in December. In his opening remarks, Draghi reiterated that the emerging market slowdown and financial market turbulence pose downside risks to the outlook for growth and inflation in the Eurozone. "Most notably, the strength and [...]
Post-it maker 3M to cut 1,500 jobs on falling sales October 22, 2015 3M is cutting 1,500 jobs, as drooping sales have forced the US manufacturing giant to slash its profit forecast for the year. Jobs will be lost across US, Europe and Latin America for the manufacturer, which counts Scotch Tape and Post-it Notes among its many products. The company reported sales tumbling 5.2 per cent in [...]
Mortgage lending rises sharply in September for the fourth month in a row October 22, 2015 The amount of mortgage lending to UK homebuyers jumped by 12 per cent in the year to September as rising employment and earnings growth helped keep confidence levels high. Gross mortgage lending reached £20bn in September, up from £17.8bn the same time last year and two per cent higher than August’s lending total of £19.7bn, [...]
CMA rejects bank break-ups – but this one chart suggests big lenders are ripping customers off October 22, 2015 The competition watchdog may have ruled out breaking up Britain's biggest banks this morning – but this one chart shows customers are paying more money for poorer services from the "Big Four". The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) compared satisfaction ratings from the consumer group Which? with personal current account prices at different banks. They [...]
The top 20 companies Brits want to work for – Google, Apple, John Lewis, and Asos top LinkedIn’s most in demand employers list October 22, 2015 People are scrambling to work at tech behemoth Google more than any other company in the UK, while high-street favourite John Lewis is the British company people most want to work for, according to figures published today. Google, famous for fun offices and free food among many perks, has topped LinkedIn's annual ranking of the most in demand employers [...]
Sense of deja vu engulfs Barclays boardroom over ringfencing waiver October 22, 2015 When George Santayana uttered his famous quote about people who fail to learn from history being doomed to repeat it, he wasn’t thinking about Britain’s banks. Shame: his words might echo pretty loudly around Barclays’ boardroom right now. Little more than three years after the bank’s chief executive fell on his sword and its chairman made way [...]
September retail sales smash economist expectations paving the way for a record UK Black Friday 2015 October 22, 2015 There was good news for the high street after retail sales surged in September, boosted by the late August bank holiday weekend and beer sales related to the Rugby World Cup. Retail sales volumes jumped by 1.9 per cent on the month, smashing economist expectations of a 0.3 per cent rise, the Office for National [...]