The Body Shop owner Natura buys beauty brand Avon for £1.6bn May 23, 2019 Natura & Co, the Brazilian owner of the Body Shop, has bought direct-selling beauty brand Avon for $2bn (£1.6bn). A new Brazilian holding company, Natura Holding, has been established as part of the deal and the combined group is expected to have annual gross revenues of more than $10bn with more than 200m customers globally. Read [...]
Thomas Cook share price drops after agencies cut credit rating May 23, 2019 Thomas Cook's share price has nosedived by nearly six per cent after two agencies downgraded the troubled travel agency into the lowest credit category. Fitch and S&P Global both slashed the firm's rating to a CCC+, meaning they both doubted the group's ability to pay its debt if the sale of its airline did not go [...]
How long will luck last for Centrica’s 13% dividend yield? May 23, 2019 | City Talk Times are hard and the yield screams danger, but Centrica has not cut the payout. Next results are key. The press was awash with stories predicting a nasty cut to Vodafone (LSE:VOD) dividend before it published full-year results. Few would be surprised. But BT (LSE:BT.A) kept shareholders on side by committing to its generous payout, and Centrica (LSE:CNA), one of [...]
Talktalk narrows losses as customers embrace fibre optic broadband May 23, 2019 Broadband provider Talktalk has cashed in on lower costs and customers switching to faster fibre products, narrowing its losses for the year. The London-listed company said it had restructured its customer base in recent years, which led to a slight drop in revenue, as consumers switch to fibre broadband. The figures Talktalk made a small [...]
Mothercare shares fall as it delays full-year results due to their ‘complexity’ May 23, 2019 Global retailer Mothercare’s shares have fallen this morning after it delayed the publishing of its full-year financial results results due to their “complexity”. Read more: Mothercare suffers another drop in UK like-for-like sales The company, a global retailer for parents and young children which has struggled amid a declining high street, released a statement today [...]
Metro Bank shares rise for second day after board avoids shareholder rebellion May 23, 2019 Metro Bank shares continued to climb this morning two days after its board survived a shareholder protest at its annual general meeting. Read more: Metro Bank shares continue recovery after board avoids shake-up The challenger bank’s share price rose 7.4 per cent in early morning trading after a 15.2 per cent leap yesterday following the [...]
Memory tricks and tips to help you win at business May 23, 2019 Even in the age of Google, remembering certain things can give you a huge advantage in business. In fact, your ability to remember can become one of your most valuable assets. The bottom line is this: people want to do business with smart people, and we view people who have a razor-sharp memory as being [...]
German manufacturing output falls but services push economy to growth May 23, 2019 Germany’s manufacturing output fell for the fourth month in a row in May as new orders fell, according to the latest IHS Markit survey of the country’s private sector. Read more: Eurozone sees weak growth in May amid stagnant demand May saw the third straight monthly decrease in employment in the manufacturing sector, making the overall [...]
Eurozone economy limps to weak growth in May amid stagnant demand, says survey May 23, 2019 The Eurozone saw subdued business growth in May as demand stagnated, with manufacturing facing the toughest conditions of any sector, according to a new survey. Read more: EU slashes its forecast for German growth as it predicts Eurozone slowdown New export orders fell markedly once again, their eighth successive monthly fall, according to today's widely-watched [...]
Serco shares rise as outsourcer seals £178m US Navy contractor buyout May 23, 2019 Serco shares rose eight per cent this morning as the government outsourcer announced it had struck a $225m (£178m) deal to buy a contractor to the US Navy. Read more: Serco seeks to capitalise on Brexit chaos as financial revival continues The FTSE 250 company, which already employs thousands of people in the US working [...]