Crestor competition expected to drag on AstraZeneca interim results November 6, 2016 Drug giant AstraZeneca, which reports its third quarter results on Thursday, is expected to remain under pressure from generic competition. Morgan Stanley, AstraZeneca’s house broker, said to expect “another tough quarter”, with sales at constant currency down some nine per cent because of rising competition for Astra’s blockbuster anti-cholesterol drug Crestor in the US. In [...]
City bosses torn over Article 50 decision November 6, 2016 Senior City figures are struggling with mixed emotions following last week's Article 50 decision. Business leaders feel the High Court ruling, which decided parliament must be consulted before Prime Minister Theresa May can trigger Article 50, will generate yet more uncertainty in the wake of June's referendum result. However, there is also a sense of relief [...]
Profit slump expected for HSBC this quarter November 6, 2016 HSBC is expected to report its profits have plunged when it releases its third quarter results in the early hours of tomorrow morning. Analysts have predicted the banking giant, which is listed in Hong Kong, New York and Paris as well as London, will announce statutory pre-tax profits of $2.4bn (£1.9bn), down 60 per cent compared with [...]
Professors’ retirement fund to invest in future Green Investment Bank projects November 6, 2016 Macquarie Bank is poised to team-up with the pension fund that manages the retirement money of Britain's university professors as part of the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank (GIB). The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), a pension scheme that can trace its roots over a hundred years, will help the Australian lender pay for future funding [...]
Sainsbury’s to reveal how much its pension scheme has grown over the last six months November 6, 2016 Sainsbury's pension scheme deficit is expected to have ballooned by up to £900m over the last six months when the company releases its interim results on Wednesday. The supermarket's pension hole stood at £390m in March but analysts are predicting that a chasm will have developed. Market expectations are that the deficit will be between £900m and £1.3bn. Read [...]
Theresa May will launch a consultation over her planned board seats for workers within weeks November 6, 2016 Downing Street is set to launch a consultation within a fortnight on Theresa May's controversial plans to put workers on boards. British businesses are already gearing up to provide alternatives to the proposals, which have raised eyebrows in boardrooms. May first revealed the plan this summer during her successful campaign to succeed David Cameron, but business groups [...]
Do you want to buy back your own company? Wetherspoon’s boss says no and asks for shareholder help November 6, 2016 Wetherspoon shareholders will meet on Tuesday to head-off an unfortunate pickle that its boss and major shareholder has found himself in. Tim Martin, who owns 29.9 per cent of the pub chain giant, is facing the prospect of having to make a takeover offer for the very business he founded 37 years ago, due to Takeover [...]
Theresa May has issued support for independent judiciary as she arrives for trade mission in India November 6, 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May has issued a fresh defence of the independence of judges who have faced strident criticism over their ruling on Article 50 last week, as she leads trade mission to India. The High Court ruled on Thursday that May would require parliamentary approval to trigger divorce proceedings with the EU, and the decision [...]