Minimum wage to rise to £6.50 March 12, 2014 The minimum wage will be going up to £6.50, business secretary Vince Cable’s confirmed. It's currently £6.31 for those 21 and over. The 19p hike will come into effect from October, and marks the beginning of a series of real-term increases, designed to “restore and then surpass” the wage’s pre-crisis value. At three per cent, [...]
Philip Clarke: Retail’s got an image problem but Tesco will win March 12, 2014 Tesco boss Philip Clarke has been talking this morning at Retail Week Live about retail’s "image problem". The chief executive of the UK’s largest supermarket said it has to accept that bigger is no longer seen as better by the customer, and that means it has to embrace change, dealing with pain in the short [...]
Innovia Security bags Bank of England contract to make material for new polymer notes March 12, 2014 The Bank of England (BoE) has announced this morning that it’s agreed a contract with Innovia Security to supply the polymer material to make its new (polymer) bank notes. The plastic for the £5 and £10 notes will be made in Wigton, Cumbria, with Innovia creating a plant specially. It’ll be operational from 2016, with [...]
Here’s what the Bank of England has to say on Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ripple March 12, 2014 In a new primer on the nature of money, the UK's central bank has waded into the world of sterling-alternatives. Seeing "a wave of innovation" in the recent past, the Bank says in "Money in the modern economy" that alternative currencies are not widely accepted as a medium of exchange. Or at least, not as [...]
Copper prices are getting slammed. Here’s what you need to know March 12, 2014 Copper values are down for a fifth straight day, as global economic worries see the red metal trade near its lowest level since July 2010. Societe Generale's Kit Juckes identifies tensions in Ukraine and ongoing Chinese growth fears as responsible for the downturn in prices. This weekend saw Chinese exports sharply lower, and a potential [...]
Poundland shares pop on first day of trading March 12, 2014 On its first of trading, Poundland has seen its shares jumped by 17 per cent. The company's initial public offering was priced significantly above its retail items of one pound, at 300p per share, toward the higher end of the range. The price gave Europe's biggest single-price retailer a market capitalisation of £750m. There has [...]
Troubles mount for G4S as profits slide March 12, 2014 Troubled contracter G4S has suffered a fall in profit before tax of 15 per cent or £170m, according to the company's preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2013. This compares to a profit of £158m in 2012. Revenue grew 2.7 per cent to £7.4bn, with strong revenue growth in emerging markets of 16 [...]
What you need to know before the open March 12, 2014 European futures are suggesting a mixed open for markets. German stocks are expected up again today, after data yesterday showed a surge in exports and imports in January. Meanwhile, Japanese consumer confidence fell to 38.3 in February (from 40.5). The drop, says Capital Economics, suggests consumers are doubtful over Abenomics. Corporate news Troubled contracter G4S [...]
Ocado sales soar as Morrisons site gathers pace March 12, 2014 Online grocer Ocado has reported a jump in retail sales of 18 per cent to £218m, for the 12 weeks to 23 February. Average orders per week rocketed 18 per cent to over 155,000. Tim Steiner, chief executive officer of Ocado, commented: We are pleased with the continued growth in our business. We remain committed [...]
Ferrexpo profits jump as production booms March 12, 2014 Iron ore miner Ferrexpo has enjoyed a jump in profit before tax of 15 per cent to £305m, for the year ended 31 December 2013. Revenue also grew by 11 per cent to £1.5bn. The company, which has operations in Ukraine, expressed its condolences for those who have been impacted by the political turmoil in [...]