FTSE 100 closes lower after BoE boosts stimulus by £100bn June 18, 2020 The FTSE 100 closed lower this afternoon following the Bank of England’s announcement that it would expand its quantitative easing programme by £100bn. London’s blue-chip index finished 0.57 per cent lower at 6,217 points, having opened 0.48 per cent down this morning. The central bank said it would boost its bond-buying programme by £100bn after [...]
Acacia Research offloads bargain Woodford stocks June 18, 2020 The US buyer that snapped up cut-price assets from Woodford’s failed Equity Income fund has offloaded the stocks just days after the deal. Acacia Research has started to sell some of the assets it agreed to buy earlier this month. In one instance, the US firm generated a profit of £750,000 from a sale of [...]
National Grid profit takes a hit from coronavirus but maintains dividend June 18, 2020 National Grid has increased its payout for the year despite reporting a hit to profits from increased bad debts from the pandemic in its US business. The figures National Grid delivered a pretax profit of £1.75bn for the year ended 31 March, down five per cent from £1.84bn for the same period last year. Earnings [...]
Pensions watchdog gives go-ahead to superfund deals June 18, 2020 The UK’s pension watchdog has given the green light to the launch of superfunds, leading to billions of pounds of retirement funds to be pooled together. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has set out an interim framework for supervising the pension consolidation vehicles called superfunds. Sky News first reported the development yesterday afternoon, before TPR confirmed. [...]
FTSE 100 closes higher but loses ground on second wave fears June 17, 2020 The FTSE 100 closed higher today, albeit losing some ground as markets remain jittery on fears of a second coronavirus wave in China. London’s blue-chip index climbed to trade 0.72 per cent higher during the afternoon afternoon, before closing up 0.18 per cent. The rally came despite figures released earlier today showing UK inflation falling [...]
Businesses are cautiously optimistic as downturn in activity eases June 17, 2020 Signs of a turnaround in business activity has prompted UK firms to feel more optimistic about the outlook for the next few months. Natwest’s small business activity index shows small steps towards recovery. The index monitors output at private sector firms with between one and 49 employees in the services, construction and manufacturing industries. It [...]
EY’s UK offices to close for one day to force staff to take holiday June 17, 2020 EY is set to shut most of its offices for a day this summer to encourage staff to use up their annual leave, as employees remain reluctant to take holiday during lockdown. The accountancy firm told its employees about the scheduled day off in a memo this week, first reported by Financial News. It came [...]
Serco shares leap as it reinstates full year guidance June 17, 2020 Serco shares shot up this morning as it announced it would reinstate guidance for the year following strong performance in the first half of the year. Shares in the public services provider jumped 17.89 per cent this morning after it reported a 23 per cent increase in revenue. Underlying trading profit was around 50 per [...]
Banknote printer De La Rue set to raise £100m amid job cuts June 17, 2020 De La Rue has announced plans to raise £100m in a placing to support it through the pandemic and implement a turnaround plan. In a separate final results statement, De La Rue reported underlying operating profits had slumped £60m to £23.7m in the year to 31 March. Revenues are down 17 per cent to £427m. [...]
FTSE 100 closes higher on new coronavirus drug hopes June 16, 2020 The FTSE 100 extended its gains this afternoon closing up nearly three per cent after a major development in an Oxford University clinical trial. London’s blue-chip index climbed to highs of 3.53 per cent in the afternoon, before closing up 2.96 per cent. It erased Monday’s losses when traders were jittery on second wave fears. [...]
