China warns EU steel tariffs will hurt the bloc’s manufacturers August 4, 2016 China warned that fresh EU anti-dumping tariffs on its steel imports would hurt part of the struggling region's already struggling manufacturing sector. It comes after the European Commission said today that it would levy retroactive anti-dumping duties on imports of certain cold rolled steel products, used in the construction and automotive industries. Read more: Union calls on [...]
Hundreds of UK jobs at risk as AB InBev announces Belgium move for SABMiller HQ August 4, 2016 Hundreds of UK jobs at SABMiller are thought to be at risk as part of the company's merger with Anheuser-Busch InBev. Budweiser maker AB InBev today confirmed the merged company's headquarters will be in Leuven, Belgium, with a functional office in New York. Read more: Megabrew: AB InBev and SABMiller expect to seal the deal in October [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 4, 2016 The Bank of England has cut interest rates and markets are loving it. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US stock futures are pointing up ahead of the open. The S&P is up by 0.15 per cent, the Nasdaq is up by 0.05 per cent, while [...]
Mark Carney says UK banks have “no excuse” to stop lending after his new stimulus package August 4, 2016 Announcing a new massive stimulus package and a cut to interest rates, Bank of England governor Mark Carney has told banks they have no excuse to stop lending to the real economy. As part of today's package a new £100bn scheme was announced which will see the Bank printing cash in order to finance cheap [...]
Pets at Home share price jumps after being bolstered by “Groom Room” August 4, 2016 Brexit may have the undermined of public confidence in the economy, led to market volatility and created political uncertainty, but the Pets at Home first quarter results showed that it doesn't seem to have affected one of the British people's most important wants: the desire to pamper our pooches. The figures Group revenue increased nearly nine per cent from £224m to £244m. [...]
Three top tips for a reluctant digital detox August 4, 2016 That's it – switch off your phone, close your laptop… maybe even unplug the telly? Ok – perhaps wait until you've finished reading this, but a third of the country has considered taking just such drastic action in an effort to detox from the digital devices littering our lives. More than half of us consider ourselves hooked and a third of [...]
Serco shares jump 16 per cent as it swings to profit August 4, 2016 Serco shares closed up 10.28 per cent to 130.90p today, after the outsourcer hiked its profit forecast for the second time this year. The figures The FTSE 250-listed company made a pre-tax profit of £58.1m in the six months ended 30 June, up from a loss of £16m a year earlier. This came despite revenue falling seven per [...]
This was the biggest City office deal in the last quarter August 4, 2016 Amazon made the biggest office deal in the City in the last quarter, taking 47,101 sq ft of space in Beaufort House. Research from BNP Paribas Real Estate showed Amazon made the biggest City move in a period when lease length fell from 9.5 years to 7.8 years as occupiers sought more flexibility. Read more: Westfield Stratford set [...]
Here’s how the market reacted to the Bank of England’s interest rate cut August 4, 2016 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has gone above and beyond market expectations with a massive stimulus package and taken an axe to interest rates. The Bank’s monetary policy committed (MPC) voted unanimously to lower interest rates to 0.25 per cent and extended its quantitative easing programme that will add £170bn of cash into the economy, warning growth in the [...]
Here’s what seven City analysts are saying about the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates August 4, 2016 So that's it – after seven long years of interest rates becoming increasingly boring, today the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to cut the base rate to 0.25 per cent. Here's how analysts have reacted: 1. "Oh, the irony" Calum Bennie, savings expert at Scottish Friendly: “It seems for many savers chickens [...]