Have UK government borrowing figures just given Osborne a pre-election boost? April 23, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne just received a pre-election boost after official figures released today showed he met his target for lowering the country's budget deficit in the 2014/15 financial year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing, which fills the hole between spending and revenues, fell to £7.4bn in March, down 5.6 percent [...]
Happy St George’s Day: Why another bank holiday would be a terrible idea April 23, 2015 Happy St George's Day. Today people across England will celebrate the country's rich history – not to mention a plethora of weird and wonderful traditions that make up this vibrant culture. But lest we forget amid the merriment: we are in the middle of a General Election. No good time will be allowed to pass [...]
UK house prices: Is this the return of the first-time buyer? April 23, 2015 As UK house prices have risen, so has the story of the death of the first-time buyer. New data suggests this despair may have come too soon, however. A third of people feel better placed to move home than they did 12 months ago, despite wage growth lagging far behind house price inflation. The figures [...]
William Hill shares slide after profits drop 19pc as tax burden begins to bite April 23, 2015 The figures Now isn't the time to bet on bookies, apparently: despite lucrative opportunities around the election, William Hill suffered a fall in operating profit of 19 per cent in the first quarter. Online operating profits dropped 38 per cent while sports betting revenues were hit by the company's largest ever loss-making week in January. [...]
WPP sales are up, but chief executive Martin Sorrell is cautious about the year ahead April 23, 2015 The world's biggest advertising firm had a good first quarter, but warns that clients are giving away less business. The figures During the first three months of 2015, like-for-like sales went up by 2.5 per cent for WPP, mainly driven higher by a strong performance in North America. Revenue was also up 8.3 per cent [...]
Taylor Wimpey upbeat on UK housing market as buyers shake off General Election jitters April 23, 2015 The figures Taylor Wimpey has made an upbeat start to 2015, with an average private net reservation rate of 0.76 sales per outlet per week for the year to date – suggesting house buyers aren't worried about the impact of the general election (and given housebuilding is one of the few sectors that stands to benefit, [...]
Dave Lewis admits long road ahead for Tesco recovery April 22, 2015 Tesco boss Dave Lewis admitted yesterday that he faced a larger task than expected turning around the struggling supermarket giant, as it reported the worst results in its 96-year history. Lewis – known as “Drastic Dave” for his radical overhaul of businesses at Unilever and now at Tesco – acknowledged that the task of turning [...]
Arris to buy Yorkshire set-top box maker Pace in $2.1bn deal April 22, 2015 Communications equipment maker Arris Group Inc will buy British set-top box maker Pace Plc in a $2.1bn cash-and-stock deal to expand into the satellite businessand boost its business outside North America. Pace shareholders will receive 1.325 pounds ($2) in cash and 0.1455 new Arris shares for each share held, the companies said last night. Arris [...]
Greece debt deadline: Syriza risks split as progress on a deal crawls April 22, 2015 Greece has enough cash to meet its debt payments into June, Eurozone and Greek officials said yesterday, quashing fears of an imminent default, as a deal to inject more cash into the debt-addled state, at a meeting in Latvia tomorrow, looks unlikely. “The liquidity situation in Greece is already a little tight, but it should [...]
Brewdog raises a glass to £25m fundraising from share sell-off April 22, 2015 Brewdog, the Scottish independent brewer, is seeking to raise £25m in funding through its own online platform. The target for the firm’s latest fundraising round, using its Equity for Punks crowdfunding tool, smashes the £4.25m it had raised back in 2013. Some 526,316 shares in the brewery have been made available to anyone who wants [...]