Controversial former Comet owner plans bid for Fitness First, along with second private equity raising May 25, 2016 Opcapita, the buyout vehicle behind the failed turnaround of electrical retailer Comet, is in early stage talks to buy the UK operations of global gym chain Fitness First. Opcapita, headed by former banker Henry Jackson, plans to grow the gym's number of locations around the UK if the bid is successful, City A.M. understands. The acquisition vehicle is also [...]
FDA decision delay sends Sarepta Therapeutic’s share price up by 16 per cent at the open May 25, 2016 Sarepta Therapeutic's investors have cheered the news that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will delay its review of one of the firm's key drugs. Shares in the company climbed by 20 per cent in the pre-market, opening up 16 per cent in New York. The review is into eteplirsen, a drug that treats Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Read more: Drug pricing [...]
Tiffany & Co shares are not an investor’s best friend today, as sales slide over seven per cent in the last quarter May 25, 2016 Diamonds may be a girl's best friend but they've fallen out of favour with tourists in the face of the strong dollar. Sales at luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co have dropped by 7.3 per cent over the last quarter, its steepest slide over a three month period in almost six year – sending investors running. Shares in Tiffany slumped by [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 25, 2016 Oil is climbing and China has fixed the yuan at its weakest level in five years. Here's what you need to know before the market open at 14:30 London time. The pre-market is pointing to a strong rise at the open. The S&P is up by 0.36 per cent, while the Nasdaq is up by 0.44 per cent. [...]
Microsoft is axing jobs in the aftermath of its Nokia sale May 25, 2016 Microsoft has announced it will slash 1,850 jobs as it moves to "streamline" its smartphone hardware business. Earlier this month the Redmond, Washington based software giant announced it would sell the Nokia handset business for a measly $350m (£238m) to FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Taiwanese gadget maker Foxconn. Microsoft acquired it business in 2014 for $7.2bn. Last year the company cut 7,800 jobs [...]
Surge in buy-to-let loans dries up pipeline for lender Paragon May 24, 2016 Specialist buy-to-let mortgage lender Paragon has recorded a 84.6 per cent increase in loans in the first six months of 2016, to £823.6m. “We saw a surge in applications from people trying to beat the stamp duty hike and as a result expect the second half to be weaker than usual,” chief executive Nigel Terrington told [...]
US private equity firm in early talks over stake in Formula One May 24, 2016 US private equity firm Silver Lake is in early-stage talks with CVC Capital Partners over a stake in Formula One (F1) motor racing. CVC Capital Partners, which currently has a 35 per cent stake in the sport, has been exploring a range of options for some time. The talks with Silver Lake, first reported by [...]
Lottery operator Camelot pulls in record revenue on digital sales May 24, 2016 Digital growth and an overhaul of prizes up for grabs has pushed National Lottery sales to a record £7.6bn last year, up by four per cent. Camelot, which runs the lottery, reported digital sales on tablets and smartphones rose by 53 per cent to £596m, while in store sales increased by £73m to a record [...]
Bank customers missing out on financial advice as mobile channel fails to drive engagement May 24, 2016 Banks are failing to provide customers with enough financial advice, a new survey has shown. The second annual Performance Against Customer Expectations (PACE) index from banking software firm FIS has revealed 82 per cent of UK banking customers receive no financial advice as the fast growing mobile channel struggles to offer the same level of engagement [...]
Oil market entering a phase of rebalancing claims Goldman Sachs May 24, 2016 Increased oil production from countries with lower costs is going to hold down the price of crude, according to industry experts at Goldman Sachs. Goldman commodity analysts claim the “new oil order” means that output from the likes of Iran and Iraq will soon entirely offset disruption from higher cost producers. Recently the oil price [...]
