Marks & Spencer shares rise on coronavirus revamp, despite blow to profit May 20, 2020 Marks & Spencer’s full-year profit sank 21 per cent as it took a £212m hit from coronavirus at the end of March, the retailer revealed today. However, investors pushed M&S’ share price up 4.6 per cent to 89.8p as the pandemic forced the British high street brand into an overhaul to save over £1bn. The [...]
£500m Future Fund launch mired by fears startups will miss out May 20, 2020 Future Fund, the government’s £500m answer to startups’ need for cash to survive coronavirus, is set to launch today – but risks freezing out a swathe of British firms, entrepreneurs and investors have warned. That many startups cannot yet demonstrate a turnover, and that they typically rely on equity investment for cash flow, excludes most [...]
TCI files criminal complaint against Wirecard executives in Munich May 19, 2020 TCI Fund Management has today filed a criminal complaint against Wirecard executives in Munich, escalating the activist campaign against the payments group. The filing of a complaint with the Munich prosecutors piles further pressure on Wirecard’s chief executive Markus Braun, who TCI has called on to resign. TCI fund manager Sir Christopher Hohn last month [...]
Almost 40,000 people have died with coronavirus in England and Wales May 19, 2020 Almost 40,000 people in England and Wales have died with coronavirus, according to new figures released today. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said the number of people to have died with coronavirus, up to 8 May, was 39,071. Overall deaths in England and Wales in the week up to 8 May were down [...]
Micro Focus revenue drops 11 per cent as coronavirus disrupts new sales May 19, 2020 Enterprise software company Micro Focus expects an 11 per cent drop in revenue for the first half of the year, following disruption to new sales activity. The figures Micro Focus expects to report revenue of approximately $1.45bn for the first half of the year, an 11 per cent fall from the same period last year. [...]
Government outlines new post-Brexit global trade tariffs May 19, 2020 The UK government has said that food and household appliances will be cheaper under a new post-Brexit trade tariffs regime set to begin in January. Britain will scrap all levies on £30bn of imports when it formally leaves the European Union at the end of the year. International trade secretary Liz Truss said the new [...]
Imperial Brands cuts dividend by one third as it anticipates coronavirus hit May 19, 2020 Imperial Brands has cut its dividend by a third as it seeks to save cash during the coronavirus pandemic. The cigarette maker reported lower-than-expected revenue for the first half of the year, and said it anticipates the impact from the coronavirus would be more pronounced in the second half of the year. The figures Reported [...]
FTSE 100 breaks 6,000 barrier as vaccine hopes and Fed pledge boost markets May 18, 2020 The FTSE 100 broke through the 6,000-point milestone in a positive start to the week’s trading today, buoyed by hopes of a vaccine and more Federal Reserve stimulus. Easing lockdowns and lower infection rates in Europe infection hotspots Italy, the UK and Spain also boosted London’s blue-chip index. The FTSE 100 closed 4.5 per cent [...]
Coronavirus will slow pace of globalisation, warn financial leaders May 18, 2020 Financial leaders are concerned the outbreak of coronavirus is having a slowing effect on globalisation, as the prospect of a global recession looms. Three quarters of senior leaders based in Luxembourg’s financial centre do not expect economic conditions to normalise to pre-crisis levels for at least a year. Additionally, 82 per cent of respondents to [...]
Alibaba’s Jack Ma steps down from Softbank board May 18, 2020 Softbank has announced that Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will resign from its board, in the latest high-profile exit for the technology group. The resignation of Jack Ma, after 13 years on the board, is the latest departure of critics of Softbank founder Masayoshi Son’s pivot towards a £100bn investment fund. Ma did not give a [...]
