Target’s earnings come in ahead of expectations, but revenue falls short in the first quarter sending shares south May 18, 2016 US retailer Target has posted mixed results for its last three months of trading, beating expectations on profit but missing on like-for-like sales. The second-largest discount retailer in the US behind Walmart reported net earnings for the three months to 30 April came in at $632m (£433m) or $1.29 per share, down slightly on the same period of 2015. [...]
Diageo appoints Javier Ferran new chairman of the board May 18, 2016 DRINKS giant Diageo yesterday announced that Javier Ferran, currently a non-executive director at SABMiller, will become its chairman on 1 January 2017. Ferran will be appointed to the Diageo board as a non-executive director from 22 July and will take up the position of chairman on the retirement of the current chairman, Swiss-Austrian businessman Franz [...]
Retail Acquisitions boss Dominic Chappell is being hauled in front of MPs over the £1 BHS deal May 18, 2016 The man who bought BHS for a £1 just over a year before it entered administration is to be hauled in front of the two committees investigating the retailer's demise, MPs confirmed today. The Business, Innovation and Skills committee and the Work and Pensions select committee – which are probing the handling of the sale of BHS [...]
Parliament’s BHS inquiries: Everything you need to know May 18, 2016 Two parliamentary committees will come together for a second time next week as part of an ongoing investigation into the collapse of BHS. The Work and Pensions select committee and the Business Innovation and Skills select committee held a joint hearing last week, grilling the chief executives of the Pension Protection Fund and The Pensions Regulator over the [...]
Japan avoids recession in first quarter, but more stimulus from the Bank of Japan is still on the way May 18, 2016 Japan posted a bumper set of growth figures in the first quarter of the year to beat analysts’ expectations and avoid dipping into recession. The economy grew 0.4 per cent in the first quarter – 1.7 per cent on an annualised basis – bouncing back from a 0.4 per cent contraction in the final three [...]
I, for one, welcome our imminent driverless car overlords May 18, 2016 The only way we’d know that the government was any more on board with driverless cars was if the Queen had pulled up to the Houses of Parliament today in the back of one rather than in a horse drawn carriage. It's no wonder, considering the interest from the likes of Google, Apple and the majority of major car makers, that [...]
EU referendum: Left Leave campaign rally tonight in Euston May 18, 2016 While the Labour party officially backs remaining in the EU, some on the left are less than impressed by the UK's membership. In that vein, a rally is being held tonight in Euston with a range of speakers who aim to put forward an internationalist argument against the EU. The meeting will be start at [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 18, 2016 Japan avoids a recession and the oil price could be about to climb over $50 per barrel for the first time this year. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. Markets look flat before the open. S&P futures are dead-centre, not even a point off. The Nasdaq is down by 0.01 [...]
The Bank of England’s agents’ summary on Brexit, housing and the living wage May 18, 2016 The economic slowdown is set to continue right up until the EU referendum, the Bank of England's latest agents' summary has revealed. The Bank's sprawling network of so-called agents are Threadneedle's streets eyes and ears on the ground of the real economy. They monitor local conditions, talk to businesses, and assess the general state of the nation, [...]