German finance minister Wolfgang Shaeuble on Grexit: Perhaps temporary exit from the Eurozone would be better for Greece July 16, 2015 Never one to mince his words, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has suggested that, despite the Greek parliament's overwhelming support for its creditors' reform proposals, a "temporary Grexit" might be a better option. Read more: IMF slams Greece deal This morning Schaeuble told Deutschlandfunkradio that "perhaps [Grexit] would be the better way for Greece". Given [...]
Markets rise on Greece hopes – but euro falls to eight year low against sterling July 16, 2015 If you're off to soak up some rays in one of Europe's sunnier climates this summer, get euros now: the currency dipped to just over 69p against the pound this morning, its lowest in eight years. Meanwhile, the currency dipped below $1.09 against the dollar for the first time since March. That's largely thanks to [...]
Sports Direct share price falls despite revenue rising 4.7 per cent July 16, 2015 The figures Shares in Sports Direct fell 0.48 per cent to 731p per share in early morning trade. The company said group revenue rose 4.7 per cent to £2.83bn in the year to April 2015, from £2.71bn in 2014. It was helped by its "sports retail" and "brands" sectors, which rose 5.5 per cent and [...]
Moody’s sounds alarm over rising UK credit card debt leaving consumers unprepared for interest rate rises July 16, 2015 Credit ratings agency Moody's has sounded the alarm over the rising level of UK consumer debt saying it leaves borrowers increasingly vulnerable to economic shocks. The new report on the risk of rising consumer debt in the UK, found unsecured lending such as credit cards and personal loans jumped to nearly seven per cent year-on-year [...]
Anglo American share price falls as it books up to $4bn in writedowns in first half July 16, 2015 Shares in miner Anglo American were tarnished this morning after it said it expects to book $3bn-$4bn in writedowns in the first half of this year, due to its iron ore operation in Brazil and some Australian coal assets. The FTSE 100-listed company, due to report its first half results next week, attributed the impairments to [...]
BT share price dips as Ofcom considers spinning-off Openreach July 16, 2015 It's been months in the offing and the cause of various, vociferous complaints – but now communications watchdog Ofcom has finally come out with it: it's considering breaking up BT. In an outline of a review this morning the regulator said separating BT from its Openreach network "could deliver competition or wider benefits for end [...]
Competition and Markets Authority accuses supermarkets of “confusing” promotions July 16, 2015 You could say the UK's competition body has just told supermarkets to BOGOF, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accused supermarkets of "confusing" people about special offers The after a major three-month investigation, the CMA said with 40 per cent of spending on groceries going on items on offer, shoppers are still being misled [...]
Central bankers scent interest rate hikes: Federal Reserve prepares for rise with UK expected to follow later July 15, 2015 An unprecedented era of easy money, seen on both sides of the Atlantic since 2008, could be over by the end of the year, with the Federal Reserve preparing to hike rates and some analysts expecting the UK to follow suit in subsequent months. “If the economy evolves as we expect, economic conditions likely [...]
Epiphany co-founder Shane Quigley turns his hand to Matalan with launch of homeware brand July 15, 2015 Serial entrepreneur Shane Quigley, who turned £5,000 into £18m by co-founding digital marketing group Epiphany, is leading the charge for Matalan’s launch of an online-only homeware brand – Matalan Direct. He heads the retailing group’s challenge to established online homeware retailers B&Q, Dunelm and HomeSense. Earlier this year Quigley started Earth Bathrooms, a homeware brand [...]
Electricity bills set to climb this winter as National Grid increases capacity to avert blackouts July 15, 2015 Electricity bills are set to rise, after National Grid was forced to fork out £36m to guard against possible power outages across the UK this winter. The company, which manages the UK’s power transmission network, has bought 2.56 gigawatts of extra power, after power station closures left the country at risk of blackouts. Before [...]