Fast food chain Wendy’s warns over forthcoming sales growth May 11, 2016 US fast food chain Wendy’s has posted better-than-expected results for its first quarter, though it warned that sales growth will struggle in the coming three months. For the quarter, Wendy’s posted a profit of $25.4m (£17.5m), down from a year-earlier profit of $27.5m. Revenue slipped 16 per cent to $378.8m, mostly down to the sale [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 11, 2016 US stocks are set to open down after pulling in strong rises yesterday. The S&P is down by 0.12 per cent in the pre-market, the Nasdaq is 0.1 per cent lower, while the Dow is 0.2 per cent off. It's been a poor showing so far from European markets, coming off the back of a disappointing trading [...]
O2 – Three merger blocked by European Commission May 11, 2016 The European Commission competition regulator has blocked the planned takeover of O2 by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison. The deal would have seen Telefonica’s O2 merge with Hutchison's UK network Three in a deal valued at £10.25bn. The tie up would have reduced the mobile operators in the UK to three, leaving just Vodafone and BT’s EE to challenge the merged [...]
Costs forcing millions to move back with parents after a break-up May 11, 2016 Financial pressures have been blamed for forcing 7.2m adults to move back in with their parents after a break-up. Rising rent and mortgage costs mean many are unable to pay for separate accommodation, according to research from Churchill Home Insurance out today. Financial reasons were listed as the main cause of needing to move back [...]
Sales surge pushes Botox maker Allergan to a $10bn share buyback May 10, 2016 Dublin-based Botox maker Allergan has announced it will buy back $10bn (£6.2bn) of shares after swinging into a profit for its first quarter. The announcement sent shares higher in New York, where the company is listed. Shares closed up by 5.28 per cent last night. Allergan’s shares have dropped by 23.6 per cent in just [...]
Visa Europe records three billion contactless payments over the last 12 months May 10, 2016 Card company Visa has recorded three billion contactless transactions in Europe over the past year. In April alone, European consumers used their cards 360m times, clocking in at almost 140 transactions per second. Contactless now accounts for one in every five Visa card payments in Europe, up from one in 60 in 2013. In the [...]
China outbound M&A climbs to record highs May 10, 2016 Outbound merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in China has rocketed so far in 2016. The country has become the world leader in cross-border acquisitions, overtaking the US and Canada for the first time on record, according to data from Dealogic. M&A activity has hit $110.8bn (£76.7bn) so far this year, surpassing the 2015 full-year record [...]
Five suitors emerge for the whole of troubled BHS May 10, 2016 BHS has attracted five expressions of interest to buy the whole of the high street retailer. The interest was registered ahead of today's 5pm deadline, according to a spokesperson for the company. There have been a higher number of expressions of interest for specific parts of the business, with most thought to be keen to [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 10, 2016 Stock futures in the US are up on the back of a good day in Asia and a strong start across Europe. The S&P is up by 0.34 per cent, while the Nasdaq is up by 2.5 per cent. The Dow has added 0.35 per cent in the pre-market. The day's big news so far Germany's current [...]
Online sales hit the brakes: Digital channel suffers slow growth in April May 10, 2016 Online retail sales growth has slumped to its lowest level in three years, piling pressure on retailers already hard hit by a customer retreat from the high street. Year-on-year online sales were up by just 6.6 per cent in April, more than halving the 15.4 per cent growth recorded in April 2015, the British Retail [...]
