Trading platform IG’s first female chief executive poised to take over group October 30, 2018 Trading and investment company IG Group has appointed its first female chief executive in the firm’s 44-year history. June Felix, a veteran of Verifone, Citibank and IBM, joins IG's executive team after a little over three years on its board. The group has been looking for a new chief executive since September when long-time boss [...]
Ocado to develop 20 new US warehouses in first three years of deal with Kroger October 30, 2018 The terms of Ocado’s landmark deal with US supermarket chain Kroger were unveiled this morning, with the British online grocer set to operate 20 warehouses across the pond in its first three years of the agreement. Ocado's shares were up more than five per cent in early morning trading. Kroger is set to order 20 warehouses, [...]
Hey PRs, no one in August is counting down to Christmas and quit the obnoxious intros October 30, 2018 Billy from a TV production company writes: “Hello Elena, I know you simply can’t wait to kick off the festive season and are counting days until Christmas.” Top marks for presumptuousness, Billy. You “know” that I “can’t wait”? I can, actually, because I don’t celebrate Christmas. You also suggest that I am “counting days”. Are [...]
DEBATE: As we head towards a cashless society, is there any point to a commemorative Brexit coin? October 30, 2018 As we head towards a cashless society, is there any point to a commemorative Brexit coin? Callum Price, events manager at the Centre for Policy Studies, says YES. There is no doubt that we are heading towards an increasingly cashless society, but we are far away from the point at which we will no longer [...]
This Budget balancing act was Hammond’s mission impossible October 30, 2018 As he stood up to deliver his Autumn Budget yesterday, the chancellor was to fulfil two promises which the Prime Minister had made at the Conservative party conference earlier this month: end austerity, while still reducing public debt as a share of GDP. Fulfilling these pledges will take time, and more details will be unveiled [...]
It’s time to get serious about closing London’s disability employment gap October 30, 2018 It is widely acknowledged that the employment opportunities on offer in London are unmatched by any other major city in the UK. Yet for disabled people, this buoyant jobs market is all too often entirely inaccessible. The disability employment gap – the difference in the employment rate between non-disabled people and disabled people of working [...]
Long-term economic growth is a prize both parties should be fighting for October 30, 2018 Ah yes, post-Budget week. That time when a modest tax change here or a spending announcement there generates reams of analysis about who’s been made “better off” or “worse off” at the stroke of the chancellor’s pen. When, for a second, the decision to try to implement VAT on warm takeaway foods or announce a [...]
Eat it up: Chiquito owner’s share price sinks as it confirms £559m Wagamama takeover October 30, 2018 Frankie & Benny's owner The Restaurant Group (TRG) saw its shares crash by almost 18 per cent in early trading today, as it launched a takeover approach for Wagamama. TRG has agreed to buy the holding company behind the pan-Asian restaurant chain, Mabel Topco, for a cash sum of £357m, saying it represents an enterprise [...]
Hammond shows how to ease austerity the Conservative way October 30, 2018 The Philip Hammond of a few years ago would have seen a few billion pounds courtesy of an unexpected windfall and promptly locked it away, like the chairman of the bank in Mary Poppins. But something has changed. Yesterday, Hammond was more Tigger than Eeyore. He announced a whopping £30bn of extra public spending by [...]
Sweet deal: Confectionery firm Mondelez beats profit estimates October 29, 2018 Food and beverage giant Mondelez reported earnings for its third quarter that performed above expectations late last night, despite falling revenue. The US-based owner of well-known brands such as Oreo, Toblerone and Belvita said it earned $1.2bn (£937.6m) in the three months to September, compared to $981m in the same period in 2017. Revenue fell [...]