London venture capital leads Europe as it doubles funding February 26, 2020 London led venture capital deals across Europe last year as it doubled its funding and the amount raised in the UK hit a record high. In 2019, London-based companies more than doubled the amount of venture capital raised from £2.5bn in 2018 to £5.6bn, according to research by Refinitiv. The number of deals increased from [...]
FTSE 100 falls further after ‘bloodbath’ as coronavirus weighs on stocks February 25, 2020 The FTSE 100 fell below 7,100 points for the first time since October last year as fears of a coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh down stocks a day after global markets plunged. After starting the day with a marginal rise, the FTSE 100 finished the day nearly two per cent lower at 7,017 points. Germany’s [...]
Italy coronavirus: Sicily case confirmed as Covid-19 moves south February 25, 2020 The coronavirus outbreak in Italy is moving south as Sicily confirmed its first case. The number of confirmed cases in Italy has now risen abocve 280, making it the hardest hit nation in Europe. Authorities reported that a woman had tested positive for the virus in Sicily, the first case south of Rome. Regional governor [...]
Iranian deputy health minister tests positive for coronavirus February 25, 2020 Iran’s deputy health minister has tested positive for coronavirus, according to local reports. The spokesman for Iran’s health ministry confirmed in an interview with state television that Iraj Harirchi has been infected and is now under quarantine. Iran has reported 16 coronavirus deaths, the most outside China, and said on Monday it had 61 confirmed cases [...]
M&G will continue freeze of its flagship property fund February 25, 2020 M&G is continuing the suspension of its £2.5bn property fund despite making good progress in selling some of the fund’s assets. M&G suspended trading in its flagship property fund in December after investors rushed to withdraw their money. The asset manager blamed the unusually high outflows on Brexit-related political uncertainty, which had made it difficult [...]
Hotel Chocolat sales boosted by roll-out of new stores February 25, 2020 Shares in Hotel Chocolat are up nearly 10 per cent as its new locations helped deliver a double-digit rise in sales for the first half of the year. The figures Hotel Chocolat reported a 14 per cent increase in revenue to £91.7m, up from £80.7m in the comparable period a year before. Underlying Ebitda rose [...]
Prudential faces break up calls from Dan Loeb’s Third Point February 25, 2020 Hedge fund manager Dan Loeb has called for the breakup of insurance company Prudential after taking a near $2bn (£1.5bn) stake. Loeb’s New-York based investment firm Third Point has built a five per cent stake in the insurance firm and is now pushing for it to separate its Asian and US operations. It comes just [...]
FTSE 100 plunges 3.4 per cent as Italy confirms seventh coronavirus death February 24, 2020 The FTSE 100 plunged more than three per cent on Monday as a rapid uptick in coronavirus cases outside China rattled investors and devastated European stocks. London’s blue-chip index fell as much as 3.7 per cent to 7,119 points today, as Italy confirmed a seventh person has died from the coronavirus. The FTSE 250 index [...]
Carnival shares slip lower as coronavirus fears grow February 24, 2020 Shares in Carnival fell nearly seven per cent as fears over a global pandemic grew and hit travel and leisure stocks. The company plunged 6.57 per cent, as at 4pm, in what has been a particularly turbulent day on the FTSE 100. London’s blue-chip index fell 3.5 per cent to 7.143 points. The last FTSE [...]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak bows to industry pressure on IR35 changes February 24, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has bowed to industry pressure over IR35 tax changes by promising enforcement will not be “heavy-handed”. The IR35 measures were implemented in order to prevent tax avoidance by “disguised employees”, contractors with permanent positions at companies without paying the same tax or national insurance contribution as standard employees. Under the latest reforms [...]
