DFS IPO: Shares priced towards bottom of range March 6, 2015 There are plenty of gags about the DFS sale (Q: what are the three things that would survive a nuclear war? A: Cockroaches, termites, the DFS sale), but it looks like that's extending into its IPO. The furniture retailer priced its shares at a bargain 255p today ahead of its IPO. That's towards the bottom [...]
Thomas Cook share price soars after Chinese Conglomerate Fosun International takes five per cent stake March 6, 2015 Thomas Cook's share price soared today after Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang took a five per cent stake. The tour operator, which staged a marked turnaround after nearly collapsing in 2011, surged 16.2 per cent to 140p per share in early morning trade. The company's shares have risen 9.5 per cent so far this year. Guangchang's conglomerate Fosun [...]
Vodafone just promised minimum 16-week maternity leave to all its female staff globally March 6, 2015 Vodafone has promised female staff across 30 countries a minimum amount of time off when they have a child, making it one of the few companies in the world to introduce a mandatory minimum maternity policy globally. From the end of the year, the telecoms giant will offer women at least 16 weeks of maternity [...]
Chinese Conglomerate Fosun International takes five per cent stake in Thomas Cook March 6, 2015 Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang has taken a five per cent stake in UK-based tour operator Thomas Cook. Guangchang's conglomerate Fosun International paid £91.8m for 73,135,777 of the company's ordinary shares. Thomas Cook said Fosun intends to double its stake to 10 per cent by purchasing more shares on the open market.
Eurozone: We are on the road to recovery March 5, 2015 The European Central Bank’s (ECB) landmark €1.1 trillion (£800bn) debt-buying programme will kick off on Sunday and boost Eurozone growth throughout 2015 and 2016, a confident Mario Draghi announced yesterday. ECB president Draghi and the bank’s forecasters are confident the programme – also known as quantitative easing (QE) – will be effective at rescuing the Eurozone [...]
Virgin Money eyes dividend this year as profits more than double March 5, 2015 Challenger bank Virgin Money could start paying dividends as soon as the middle of this year, chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia told City A.M. yesterday. Virgin announced operating profits of £121.2m for 2014, more than double the £53.4m recorded in 2013. However, its statutory profits slumped to £34m – 2014’s figures include the costs of its [...]
Morgan Stanley possible target for lawsuit over OW Bunker float March 5, 2015 MORGAN Stanley is one of the banks that could be sued by the Danish Shareholders’ Association (DSA) over the disastrous initial public offering (IPO) of OW Bunker in March 2014. The Danish marine fuel company, which was originally valued at $1bn (£656m), was rocked by scandal in November 2014 when it revealed it was facing [...]
E-books cannot have a lower rate of VAT, says European court March 5, 2015 E-BOOKS cannot have a lower rate of VAT applied to them, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled yesterday. The Luxembourg- based court was adjudicating on a case brought by France and Luxembourg, to try and have e-books subject to the same lower rate of VAT that hardcopy books are. However, ECJ judges said: “The [...]
TSB chief exec Paul Pester receives £1.9m March 5, 2015 New bank TSB’s chief Paul Pester received £1.89m in 2014, the bank reported yesterday. The boss’ salary came to £651,588, while his legacy bonus from Lloyds – paid up to June 2014 – came to £377,000. His TSB award was smaller at £36,167, in line with all staff who hit their targets then get a [...]
Local level cuts hit London and poorest hardest March 5, 2015 CUTS to local government spending will hit London boroughs harder than the rest of England, a think tank has said today. Spending per person has been cut by 23.4 per cent between 2009-10 (the year to April 2010) and 2014-15 when accounting for inflation, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said. But the size of [...]