EU confirms no fines for Spain and Portugal over budget deficits August 9, 2016 Spain and Portugal will not be fined for breaking the EU's budget rules, it was confirmed today. European leaders have accepted the recommendation to let the countries off with a slap on the wrist, rather than impose a financial penalty which could have been equivalent to 0.2 per cent of GDP. Under the EU's stability and growth pact, members of [...]
Why Legal & General’s share price is down when its profits are up August 9, 2016 Pensions and insurance giant Legal & General's shares are today the biggest fallers of the FTSE 100, despite the company revealing a boost to its pre-tax profits. Legal & General announced a profit before tax attributable to shareholders of £826m, an increase of 23 per cent. Despite this, shares are currently down 4.9 per cent at 207.5p. [charts-share-price [...]
Southern Rail strike: RMT offers to suspend industrial action if it gets what it wants August 9, 2016 The union striking on Southern Rail has offered to suspend its action – if it gets what it wants. The RMT union repeated offer to suspend Southern strike action around principles of ScotRail proposals and calls for urgent talks today. The union offered to suspend strikes on last Friday, but only if Southern meet the same [...]
Andy Burnham confirmed as Labour candidate for Manchester mayor August 9, 2016 Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham has been tapped by Labour as their candidate for Manchester mayor. Manchester will choose an elected mayor next May, when the roles of existing interim mayor and elected police and crime commissioner are merged. Burnham said it was a "great honour" to be selected as he overcame competition from Burt South MP Ivan [...]
Rank and 888 Holdings submit bid for William Hill August 9, 2016 Rank and 888 Holdings have submitted a takeover bid for bookmaker William Hill, according to reports. The consortium's bid values the bookie at more than £3.6bn, the Financial Times reported. At the end of July 888 and Rank confirmed they were launching a takeover offer for the only major UK bookmaker that has yet to [...]
Standard Life has seen profits climb to £341m, with assets boosted by both Brexit and auto-enrolment August 9, 2016 Standard Life has been boosted by an 18 per cent increase in pre-tax profits for the six months to 30 June, with its share price climbing in this morning's trading as a result. The pensions and investments firm has seen its price on the London Stock Exchange climb from a Monday close of 318.50p to [...]
Manufacturing sector shrunk in June as industry fears prolonged slowdown August 9, 2016 The UK's manufacturing sector started life after the EU referendum on the back foot, official statistics released this morning have confirmed. The industry shrunk by 0.3 per cent in June, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing the slowdown started in the days before the UK's historic vote to untangle itself from [...]
Legal & General share price falls as company reveals wobbles with insurance despite growing profits overall August 9, 2016 Legal & General slumped to the bottom of the FTSE 100 this morning, despite reporting an increase in profits. The figures The financial services giant revealed a profit before tax attributable to shareholders for the first half of 2016 of £826m, up 23 per cent on 2015's £672m. However, hidden within that positive profit figure, insurance [...]
New Look sales and revenue drop as gloomy market conditions weigh on the company August 9, 2016 New Look posted a disappointing set of results this morning, announcing a drop in sales and revenue. The figures New Look's UK like-for-like sales fell by seven per cent in the 13 weeks to June 25, and overall revenue fell by 4.2 per cent to £354.2m. Adjusted operating profit was also hit, down by 29 per cent to [...]