Sainsbury’s beats rivals to report sales growth October 15, 2019 Sainsbury’s beat its rivals to become the only major UK supermarket to report sales growth in the last 12 weeks. The grocer’s sales increased 0.6 per cent, its fastest rate since October last year, while the other “Big Four” supermarkets- Tesco, Asda and Morrisons – saw sales decline 0.2 per cent, 0.9 per cent and [...]
Marston’s forecasts lower profit on food sales slump October 15, 2019 Pub operator Marston’s said it expects to post a dip in profit this year due to weakening food sales. Shares fell more than eight per cent after the Pitcher and Piano owner said it expected to report underlying profit before tax of around £101m, compared to £104m last year. Read more: Beer sales slump dampens [...]
Shares in UK engineer Renishaw fall as profit slumps October 15, 2019 Shares in UK engineering firm Renishaw have fallen 6.4 per cent after the company warned that trading conditions will “remain challenging” and revealed a dramatic fall in profit. Renishaw, which makes high-tech manufacturing machines, said adjusted profit before tax was £4.3m in the three months to the end of September, just a fraction of the [...]
Neil Woodford’s ‘sorry saga’ finally ends as flagship fund set to be wound up October 15, 2019 Neil Woodford is to be fired from his flagship fund, which will shortly be wound up, the administrator charged with overseeing its frozen assets has announced. Corporate director Link Fund Solutions has written to investors to say it will return their cash as soon as possible from Woodford Investment Management. Read more: Watchdog calls for [...]
Finance watchdog to crack down on interest-linked car commission October 15, 2019 Britain’s financial watchdog has said it plans to ban auto dealers from taking commission linked to the interest rates on loans used to pay for cars, which it says would save consumers £165m. Dealers and brokers that receive interest-linked commission can currently set the rate, causing a strong incentive for them to act against customers’ [...]
Michel Barnier: Brexit deal ‘still possible this week’ despite difficult talks October 15, 2019 The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said today that reaching a fresh Brexit deal “will be difficult” but that it “is still possible this week”. Barnier told EU ministers in Luxembourg that Brexit negotiations with the UK are “intense” and that “our team are working hard”. Read more: Sterling creeps back up as hopes [...]
Sterling creeps back up as Brexit deal hopes return October 15, 2019 Sterling has risen against the dollar and euro this morning as investors regain some optimism over a possible Brexit deal. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was boosted yesterday when hardline Tory rebels signalled that they would be willing to vote for a Brexit agreement if it were brought before the Commons. This morning, the European Union [...]
No-deal Brexit: The potential winners and losers October 15, 2019 As you read this, Brexit negotiators are working around the clock to come to an agreement that will enable the UK to leave the EU in an orderly way by the Halloween deadline. Both sides have said they are committed to working out a deal, but with time so short, nothing is certain. If they [...]
City Moves for 15 October – Who’s switching jobs at Currencycloud, Frame and Hilton? October 15, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Currencycloud, Frame and Hilton Currencycloud London-based fintech and cross-border payments platform Currencycloud has appointed Barbera De Jong to chief people officer. Barbera will be responsible for driving organisational evolution across the business, which has more than doubled its headcount since 2017 to over 200 employees across its offices in London, Cardiff, [...]
Sorry not sorry: End the apology culture in business October 15, 2019 When David Neeleman, the founder of American airline JetBlue, published a YouTube video entitled “Our Promise to You” in 2007, it was the first corporate social media apology. The video set the standard for modern crisis management. Snow storms and bad planning had forced the airline to cancel more than a thousand flights, affecting over [...]