Odds are Cheltenham week will boost bookies’ transactions by 50 per cent says Worldpay March 17, 2016 This week's Cheltenham Festival could see online bookies process more than 50 per cent more betting transactions this week, according to global payments provider Worldpay. Estimates from the 2015 event suggest that bookmakers saw a phenomenal 47 per cent rise in transactions during the four-day festival, as racing fans sought to beat the bookies. The climax of the [...]
Arbuthnot Banking Group share price rises by more than four per cent after posting 52 per cent jump in profits as subsidiary Secure Trust Bank re-affirms interest in Williams & Glyn March 17, 2016 Shares in Arbuthnot Banking Group rose by more than four per cent this morning after the bank reported a 52 per cent rise in annual pretax profits, with performance boosted by growth in its private and retail banking businesses. Arbuthnot said pretax profit rose to £34.2m for the year ended 31 December, up from £22.5m the year [...]
Sirius Minerals share price falls on North Yorkshire Potash mine costs March 17, 2016 Sirius Minerals shares slumped today after the miner said its North Yorkshire potash mine could cost up to $3.5bn (£2.4bn). The first phase will cost $1.6bn, followed by another $1.9bn in the second phase, according to a widely anticipated study into the project. This helped send the company's shares down as much as 17.8 per cent to [...]
Women rejoice: The tampon tax is about to be axed as George Osborne says deal with EU “days away” March 17, 2016 Women across Britain rejoice – the tampon tax is about to be axed. George Osborne has said the government is about to agree a deal with Europe "in the next few days" to end the raw deal that women get having to pat VAT on them. "I perfectly understand people's anger at paying the tampon [...]
Toshiba share price takes hit as US arm faces accounting investigation on same day as it sells Toshiba Medical System Corporation to Canon for £4.2bn March 17, 2016 Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp is under investigation by the US over allegations the company hid $1.3bn (£906m) in losses at its nuclear power operations. The company share price dropped more than eight per cent during afternoon trading in Japan following news of the probe by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, who are investigating whether serious [...]
London’s Air Ambulance lands on College Green in Parliament Square after bus collision injures woman cyclist March 17, 2016 London's air ambulance has been called to Parliament Square after a serious collision involving a bus occurred during rush hour this morning. Witnesses posted pictures of the emergency responders arriving at the scene, with the helicopter landing on College Green, outside the Houses of Parliament. Serious incident in #ParliamentSquare pic.twitter.com/5Ui61RwMAo — Martin Paige (@MysticMartin) March 17, 2016 [...]
Home Retail Group bid could be extended if either Sainsbury’s or Steinhoff makes another offer for Argos parent March 17, 2016 Time is running out for Sainsbury's to make another bid for Argos parent Home Retail Group – but the Takeover Panel has given both the supermarket and rival suitor Steinhoff a lifeline of sorts. The two businesses have until 5pm tomorrow to make a "firm intention" of an offer or walk away from the deal. [...]
Mortgage borrowing rises in January as landlords race for stamp duty deadline March 17, 2016 Would-be landlords made a mad dash to secure mortgages in January as new rules on stamp duty for buy-to-let homes loomed, new figures show. Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows landlords borrowed £3.7bn in January, up nine per cent from the month before – but a whopping 42 per cent year on year. New [...]
Trinity Mirror doubles cover price of New Day newspaper despite circulation struggles March 17, 2016 The cover price of Trinity Mirror's New Day newspaper doubled to 50p today despite the title's circulation falling to below 90,000. The publisher originally intended to raise the cover price from 25p to 50p after two weeks, although it stressed it could be flexible. Read more: New Day could be closed if it's not profitable by [...]
Eurozone deflation ruins quantitative easing’s first birthday March 17, 2016 Annual price growth in the Eurozone dropped to back into negative territory in February, official figures confirmed this morning. Inflation as measured by the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) was minus 0.2 per cent in February, according to EU statistical office Eurostat. The data confirms an earlier estimate and shows inflation has deviated further from its two per [...]