Fitch warns global growth will be slowest since 2009 September 30, 2015 Credit ratings agency Fitch has warned global growth is set to be the slowest since the depths of the financial crisis this year. Fitch said it expects the global economy will grow by just 2.3 per cent this year, the weakest since 2009, and less than the agency's June forecast. The weakness will come from [...]
Fnac makes £533m takeover offer for Darty as it seeks to create French electronics giants September 30, 2015 French electronics and music retailer Fnac has made a takeover bid for Darty in a deal that would value its UK-listed rival at £533m. Shares in Darty have soared as much as 17 per cent this morning after Fnac confirmed it has made an offer of 101p per share, 25 per cent above yesterday’s closing price [...]
Whitbread’s Costa coffee chain to pay baristas above National Living Wage September 30, 2015 First it was Starbucks. Now coffee chain Costa has also followed suit by announcing a pay hike for its staff ahead of the government’s national living wage. From tomorrow Costa baristas in London (of all ages) will earn a minimum of £8.20 an hour, rising to over £9, the Whitbread-owned chain said. Meanwhile staff working [...]
As Volkswagen’s woes trundle on, Porsche names new chief executive September 30, 2015 Porsche – whose chief executive Matthias Mueller sped off to Volkswagen last week to cope with its ongoing emissions scandal – has wasted no time in installing a new leader behind the wheel: the company named Oliver Blume, a member of its executive board for production and logistics, as new chief executive. Blume has previously [...]
Savills: London house prices for the Capital’s most expensive properties have been dented by new stamp duty rules September 30, 2015 London's most expensive properties have been dented by strict new stamp duty rules, new research from upmarket estate agent Savills has shown, with prices in central London falling 4.6 per cent in September, compared with the same month last year. The heart bleeds… The research suggested new rules introduced in last year's Autumn Statement, which [...]
Global steel price drops to lowest level in over a decade September 30, 2015 It's been a bad month all round for commodities, and steel is the latest metal to show the scars of economic turmoil. The overall price of the commodity dropped to its lowest level in 11 and a half years in September, according to the MEPS steel price index. Read more: SSI to close Redcar [...]
Standard & Poor’s thinks the European Central Bank will extend its quantitative easing programme September 30, 2015 Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has said it sees signs the European Central Bank (ECB) could extend its quantitative easing programme beyond September 2016. S&P said the euro has strengthened against the currencies of slowing emerging market economies. This will make it harder for the ECB to meet its inflation target of just [...]
PPI-related complaints against UK banks falling September 30, 2015 Customer complaints about payment protection insurance (PPI) are falling, according to new financial regulator figures which hint that the fallout from banks’ mis-selling of PPI is beginning to settle. PPI-related complaints remain the biggest source of grumbling among customers in the aftermath of the scandal, but they’re down 17 per cent in the first six [...]
Quindell share price rises on report of loss and dropping sales after rocky period September 30, 2015 The figures The troubled insurance claims processor has reported a pre-tax loss of £35.4m for the first half of 2015. Revenue has dropped to £35m, down from £43m. These figures come just weeks after the company released full-year accounts restating past earnings. Quindell shares were up after the results, trading 2.15 per cent up in [...]
VW emissions scandal: First UK legal move against Volkswagen as law firm Leigh Day calls for “full refund” over emissions-cheat cars as car giant admits 1.2m British cars affected September 30, 2015 A UK law firm has made what is thought to be the first legal move against Volkswagen in the wake of the emissions cheating scandal, as the car giant admits that almost 1.2m UK cars may have been fitted with the cheat device. Volkswagen said this morning that more than 508,000 VW passenger cars sold [...]