Shares in Avast rise as it lifts forecast on growing demand for privacy tools August 14, 2019 Shares in cybersecurity firm Avast rose more than eight per cent after it lifted forecasts for full-year revenue to the upper end of its guidance. The London-listed company posted an 8.3 per cent increase in revenue to $422m (£350m) in the first half, while adjusted net profit rose 14 per cent to $148m. Read more: [...]
Canada Goose shares drop as lightweight clothes hurt margins August 14, 2019 Canada Goose has reported a slip in its gross margin for the first quarter as it increased sales of its less profitable lightweight clothes. Read more: July 2019 worst on record for retail sales growth The Toronto based firm, best known for its luxury parka jackets, increased its revenue by 59 per cent to CA$71.1m [...]
Grant Thornton quits as Sports Direct auditor August 14, 2019 Sports Direct faces being left without an auditor after Grant Thornton told the retailer it would not apply for reappointment. The decision threatens to leave Sports Direct high and dry as all of the Big Four firms have indicated they are reluctant to take on the role. The Financial Times reported that Sports Direct has [...]
Tencent posts profit boost after China lifts gaming ban August 14, 2019 Tencent has reported a 35 per cent rise in profit for the second quarter as growth in its gaming division returned after a lengthy regulatory ban. The Chinese tech giant has suffered a string of disappointing quarterly results after Beijing imposed a nine-month freeze on licences for new online games. Read more: Tencent in talks [...]
Atom Bank, iwoca, Modulr Finance and Currencycloud awarded £40m from RBS banking competition fund August 14, 2019 Four UK financial firms have been handed a combined £40m today from an RBS fund aimed at boosting business banking competition. Atom Bank, iwoca, Modulr Finance and Currencycloud were awarded the new capital as part of an effort to boost lending and payments services to SMEs in the UK. Read more: Barclays stops banking cryptocurrency [...]
Lookers profits splutter as dealership tries to contain sales practice issues August 14, 2019 Problems continue to mount for British car dealership Lookers, as the London-listed firm today said it expects costs to rise as it tries to address problems found with its sales practices. The small cap firm this morning posted a sharp drop in profit for the first half of the year, after car sales were affected [...]
Wework lost $700m in first half, pre-IPO filing shows August 14, 2019 Wework lost nearly $700m (£580m) in the first half of the financial year, even as revenue doubled, the company announced in its first detailed financial results yesterday. The company, the listing of which next month is expected to value the business in the tens of billions, said it has no plans to start paying dividends [...]
UK court blocks private prosecution over Boris Johnson’s Brexit bus claim August 14, 2019 A campaigner attempting to prosecute the Prime Minister over claims that Britain would be £350m a week better off after leaving the EU has lost his bid to take the case to the UK’s Supreme Court. Marcus Ball was seeking to bring a crowdfunded private prosecution against Boris Johnson for misconduct in public office over [...]
Recession warning lights flash red as UK ‘yield curve’ inverts August 14, 2019 Warning lights are flashing for the UK economy after the government bond “yield curve” inverted this morning for the first time since 2008. An inversion is traditionally seen as a steadfast indicator of an upcoming recession. Read more: Into the red: UK economy shrinks for first time in seven years The curve is the difference [...]
Boris Johnson blasts ‘terrible collaboration’ between MPs and EU August 14, 2019 Boris Johnson has blasted pro-Remain MPs for a “terrible collaboration” with the EU to prevent a no-deal Brexit, during his first ‘People’s PMQs’. The Prime Minister used a live Facebook stream to answer pre-posted questions from members of the public, the first of which was about Brexit. Johnson said: “There’s a terrible collaboration, as it [...]