William Hill rejects £3.6bn takeover offer from Rank Group and 888 Holdings August 9, 2016 The William Hill board has unanimously rejected a takeover offer from Rank Group and 888 Holdings that it said "significantly undervalued" the bookmaker. In a statement, William Hill confirmed it received a £3.6bn proposal from a Rank and 888 consortium, which was first reported this morning. The offer, which valued William Hill at 364p per share, was at [...]
Facebook will stop users blocking adverts August 9, 2016 Facebook is the latest media company to fight the rise of ad blockers, by serving ads to those who use the software. It will force ads to appear on the desktop version of the social network even if they use the popular software, said Facebook executive Andrew Bosworth. It will also give users greater control over [...]
Former Deloitte chief and private equity house plot challenger to big four accountancy firms August 9, 2016 A former Deloitte executive is teaming up with a private equity house to launch a challenger to the big four accountancy firms. John Connolly, who was chief executive of Deloitte UK, is said to be plotting a string of acquisitions to take on his former employer along with EY, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG. He is working on [...]
UK economy contracted in July amid Brexit fallout August 9, 2016 The UK economy contracted in July as the UK was left reeling from the fallout of the vote to leave the European Union, a leading economic think tank has estimated. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said the UK shrunk by 0.2 per cent during the political turmoil of July. Niesr said the figures confirmed their [...]
Banking bazooka? CMA report great for fintech, costly for banks August 9, 2016 The competition watchdog has today handed fintech startups a bazooka for their mission of disrupting banks, with new rules for making data more open to improve customer choice. The so-called big four – HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland – and other smaller high street banks will have to work together to create standards for sharing [...]
Donald Trump hits back at “failed Washington elite” foreign policy experts who brand him reckless August 9, 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has hit out at a "failed Washington elite" that warned against electing him to the White House. Trump said the 50 Republican foreign policy experts are attempting to hold on to power after they wrote an open letter warning that the billionaire would be "the most reckless president" in US history. [...]
Rio 2016 Olympics: What to watch on Wednesday including Chris Froome, rugby sevens, Rebekah Tiler, Andrew Willis, Max Whitlock and rowing August 9, 2016 NULL
Valeant falls woefully short of expectations but investors cheer full year guidance, sending the share price higher August 9, 2016 Valeant Pharmaceuticals – the Canadian drug giant that's been through a whirlwind year – has fallen far short of expectations in its second quarter. Investors were cheered however by the company dodging another profit warning as it reconfirmed its guidance for full-year profits. Shares climbed by over seven per cent in the pre-market before paring back gains. Read more: [...]
CMA banking review pushes up banks’ share prices August 9, 2016 Shares in the UK's largest lenders rose this morning, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its "shake up" of the UK's banking sector. Shares in Barclays were up two per cent at 160.6p in lunchtime trading, while RBS rose 1.9 per cent to 188.2p. Meanwhile, Lloyds and HSBC both edged up 0.5 per cent, to [...]