Spending held back by low consumer confidence in April May 9, 2016 Consumer spending rose by 1.9 per cent year-on-year in April, up from March’s 1.6 per cent rise, according to the latest data from Barclaycard. April was the second consecutive month of poor performance, with growth down from four per cent in December. The gloomy numbers have been put down to economic headwinds including slowing wage growth, [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 slips on the falling oil price as poor China data weighs heavy May 9, 2016 The FTSE 100 has managed to erase all its earlier gains to close down, adding to the worst weekly performance since February and marking the third straight week of losses. The blue-chip index finished 0.2 per cent lower at 6,114.81 after falling 1.9 per cent last week. The index is down around two per cent so far this year and 15 per [...]
Sports car manufacturer Zenos Cars aims for £750,000 crowdfunding investment round May 9, 2016 High-performance car maker Zenos Cars is looking to raise £750,000 through crowdfunding site Seedrs to fuel its expansion. The campaign, which got underway at the end of last week, has already raked in over £102,000, 14 per cent of its goal. Zenos has sold 100 cars, which start at £26,995, since the company was founded three years ago. Read more: Classic [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 9, 2016 Stock markets lost ground over the last week but look set to open stronger today. S&P futures are up by 0.13 per cent, while the Nasdaq is up by 0.25 per cent. Dow futures are trading up by 0.21 per cent ahead of the open. Last week the Dow slipped 0.2 per cent, the S&P declined by [...]
Saudi Aramco targets London, New York, and Hong Kong for international listing May 9, 2016 The public listing of what could become the world's most valuable company, Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco, looks on course to happen in London. London – previously reported by City A.M. as a leading contender for the state-run company's IPO – has been named as part of a potential three-way foreign listing, along with rival global financial centres Hong Kong and New York. Shares [...]
Week ahead: Bank of England rate decision and China data in focus May 9, 2016 Economic data will once again be in focus this week with the Bank of England (BoE) interest rate decision and its inflation report due on Thursday. Expectations for an interest rate hike are almost non-existant though the tone of governor Mark Carney’s remarks will be closely scrutinised for any clues on the current economic landscape. On [...]
EDF investors to debate Hinkley plant at shareholder meeting this week May 8, 2016 EDF Energy's shareholders will question the company’s management over plans for the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant this week. EDF will host a combined shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday where chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy is expected to make a statement on the plant and take questions from investors. The final investment decision on the £18bn project to [...]
Tata UK break up raises fears over scale of potential job losses May 8, 2016 There is a growing possibility that Tata Steel’s UK operations, which include the Port Talbot steelworks, will be broken up as the sale process drags on. Of the 20 or so bids Tata has received for the company only two are understood to be for the businesses as a whole. Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty House has submitted an [...]
European watchdog set to rule on Three – O2 merger in coming weeks May 8, 2016 The European Commission is expected to make a decision in the next fortnight on whether to block the merger of mobile networks O2 and Three. There are concerns that Telefonica’s sale of O2 to Hutchison group in Hong Kong would impact competition, reducing the number of mobile operators in the UK from four to three [...]
Application fraud rates up by 20 per cent as current accounts and credit cards get hit May 6, 2016 Rates of financial application fraud have continued to climb in 2016, pushed on by credit card and current account scams. Current account fraud again topped Experian’s fraud index charts for fraudulent applications at a rate of 126 in every 10,000 applications, compared to 81 in 10,000 over the same period a year ago. Credit card fraud [...]
