Sweden just cut its interest rates to negative and announced a bond-buying scheme February 12, 2015 The Swedish krona plunged 1.73 per cent to its lowest against the dollar in five years today, after the Riksbank – the world's oldest central bank – cut its key interest rate to -0.1 per cent. The cut, from 0.25 per cent, is an effort to combat a deflationary spiral in the country. Sweden's inflation [...]
Arm Holdings’ full-year profit grows on the back of Apple iPhone sales February 11, 2015 Software design company Arm Holdings’ full year profit jumped 13 per cent to £411.3m, after the iPhone 6, holding the company’s core chip technology, enjoyed record sales. The Cambridge-based company, most known for selling microchips to smartphone giants Samsung and Apple, saw its revenue rise 11 per cent to £795.2m. Apple, one of Arm’s biggest [...]
Tesco returns to growth as Drastic Dave’s overhaul gets underway February 10, 2015 TESCO has returned to growth after one of the most turbulent years in its history, according to the latest market share figures, in a sign that chief executive Dave Lewis’s turn-around efforts are starting to pay off. Sales increased by 0.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to 1 February compared with the same time [...]
Apple becomes most valuable publicly traded company ever February 10, 2015 Apple has become the first ever publicly traded company to exceed a total value of $700bn (£459bn). Shares in the technology giant went up by two per cent to $122.02 (£79.99) at close on Tuesday, giving the company a valuation of $711bn (£466bn). This was $13.4bn (£8.8bn) higher than on Monday, and makes Apple [...]
Morrisons, Tesco, Ocado and Marks & Spencer’s share prices soar after UK food sector shows signs of growth February 10, 2015 Supermarkets led the FTSE 100 higher this afternoon, after figures revealed the grocery sector was in growth once again. Morrisons' share price had recorded the biggest gains at pixel time, rising 5.5 per cent. This was on the back of Kantar figures out this morning, showing its sales had fallen 0.4 per cent, the [...]
Pound edges towards a seven-year high against the euro February 10, 2015 The pound rose as much as 0.5 per cent against the euro this morning, pushing it close to its highest since 2008. One euro now costs close to 74.1p, near the 74.3p it cost on Valentine's Day 2008. The rise followed encouraging data from the UK's manufacturing industry. Official data published this morning showed manufacturing [...]
Tesco’s share price jumps as Kantar figures reveal the supermarket has grown sales for first time in a year – but it is still losing market share February 10, 2015 Tesco's share price jumped nearly two per cent this morning after figures revealed it had grown for the first time since January 2014. The UK's biggest retailer recorded sales growth of 0.3 per cent to £7.9bn for the 12 weeks to February 1, according to Kantar Worldpanel. But that was not enough to stem the [...]
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney: “No room for complacency” in global banking reform February 9, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has cautioned against slowing the pace of global banking reforms, saying the financial system is more resilient than during the financial crisis, but there's still "no room for complacency". Speaking in his role as chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a body which monitors the global financial system, [...]
Tesco defends supplier price cut demands February 8, 2015 TESCO defended itself last night against accusations that it was putting pressure on suppliers to cut prices in line with falling commodity costs, saying it held regular talks in a bid to obtain the best prices for customers. The ailing supermarket chain, which is in the process of turning itself around following last year’s accounting [...]
Bank of England set to hint at an earlier rise in interest rates February 8, 2015 INTEREST rates could rise sooner than markets expect, economists predicted over the weekend, as the Bank of England prepares to update its growth forecasts on Thursday. Inflation could fall to zero in the coming months, pushing back expectations of an interest rate rise, and all nine members of the monetary policy committee last month voted [...]