Antibiotics not finger-licking good for KFC as McDonald’s and Costco vow to end sale of drug-raised chickens March 12, 2015 KFC is likely to come under pressure from consumer and environmental groups to change how its poultry are raised after McDonald’s said it would no longer sell chicken raised with human antibiotics. McDonald’s announced last week it will phase out chicken raised with antibiotics for human health over two years to allay concern that use [...]
London leads national house price growth March 12, 2015 London and the south east are leading national house price growth despite slowing substantially, new figures show today. Average UK house prices were 6.8 per cent higher in February than they were in the same month last year, according to figures released by property services firm LSL today. If London and the south east are [...]
Euro devaluation and low interest rates to fuel property investment in 2015 March 12, 2015 Investment in Europe’s property market is expected to jump by as much as 10 per cent this year thanks to low interest rates and the expected ongoing euro devaluation. Research published yesterday by Savills showed investment volumes could top €210bn (£150m) by the end of 2015, up five to 10 per cent on the €199.3bn [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney says global deflation forces, strong sterling could delay rate hike March 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said that low inflation outside of the UK, as well as a strong sterling, could cause the central bank to push back a rate hike. "It may be appropriate to take into account persistent external deflationary forces arising from the combination of continued foreign low inflation and the [...]
TSB share price leaps 27 per cent as Lloyds backs £1.7bn takeover talks with Spanish bank Sabadell March 12, 2015 Lloyds appeared to give its blessing to an offer by Spanish Banco de Sabadell for challenger bank TSB this morning, in which it has a 50 per cent stake. TSB said it had been offered 340p in cash per share, about a 30 per cent premium on last night's closing price, valuing the lender at [...]
Alibaba just invested in Snapchat: Four charts showing just how big its new $15bn valuation is March 12, 2015 Everyone’s favourite disappearing messaging app, Snapchat, has raised a new round of funding from Alibaba which values the firm at $15bn (£10bn). It’s a vote of confidence for the four-year-old app, which has just introduced a host of content-driven advertising features in a bid to start generating some revenue. The app picked up $200m from [...]
Chinese government restrictions failing to curb Bitcoin use March 12, 2015 China is going mad for Bitcoin, according to a new report by Goldman Sachs. Despite the government's measures to restrict use of the currency 80 per cent of Bitcoin volume is now driven by the Chinese Yuan. The next biggest driver of transactions is the US dollar, followed by the Euro. The bank isn’t alone [...]
John Lewis Partnership slashes bonus as Waitrose profits fall March 12, 2015 The John Lewis Partnership, known for its generous staff incentives, has slashed the bonus payout to its partners after a hit on profits at its upmarket grocery chain Waitrose. Staff will receive a bonus of 11 per cent of their annual salary, down from last year's 15 per cent – the third annual decline in a row. [...]
Serco share price plunges as much as 16 per cent after first revenue fall in 25 years March 12, 2015 The figures Outsourcing firm Serco said full-year revenue fell to £3.95bn, down from £4.28bn a year earlier. The company also made a £1.35bn operating loss, compared to a £146m operating profit in 2013. Shares in Serco fell as much as 16 per cent to 174p in mid-morning trade as investors reacted to the results. Why it's interesting Serco's woes [...]
Challenger bank Shawbrook jumps on IPO bandwagon March 12, 2015 Shawbrook has become the latest challenger bank to announce plans to list on the London Stock Exchange, with plans to raise about £90m. The announcement of its intention to float follows an impressive showing by rival Aldermore earlier this week, whose shares closed 12 per cent higher on its first day of trading. Its shares [...]