Darty’s board has recommended that shareholders approve Fnac’s 170p per share offer May 31, 2016 The board of London-listed electricals group Darty has recommended that its shareholders approve a 170p per share offer from French retailer Fnac. Darty had been subject to a bidding war between Fnac and rival French homewares retailer Conforama, which is owned by South Africa's Steinhoff. Fnac had originally tabled a 101p per share offer last September, [...]
EU court opinion supports corporate headscarf ban May 31, 2016 Companies can ban Muslim staff from wearing headscarves if the rules are part of a general prohibition on religious symbols in the workplace, according to the European Court of Justice. The court has published the non-binding opinion in connection with a case taken by former G4S employee Samira Achbita, a Muslim woman who was fired by [...]
European business leaders sign letter in support of EU May 31, 2016 The leaders of some of Europe's biggest businesses have today issued a letter in support of the European Union, ahead of the upcoming UK referendum. All 51 members of the European Round Table of Industrials signed the letter, which said that an unravelling of the Single Market and the rules governing 28 countries "would reduce, [...]
Danish utility and wind farm developer Dong Energy sets IPO price range May 26, 2016 Dong Energy, the Danish state-controlled utility, has set its indicative price range for its planned initial public offering (IPO). The firm's float price of 200 Danish crowns to 255 Danish crowns implies a market value of up to 106.5bn Danish crowns (£10.9bn). The flotation was previously expected to value the company around 80bn Danish crowns. Dong, which also develops [...]
Takata’s share price surges as KKR takes an interest in the troubled airbag company May 26, 2016 Japanese airbag company Takata has attracted the attention of US investment fund KKR, driving the Tokyo-listed firm's share price up by over 20 per cent this morning. Takata's share price has slumped over the past couple of years due to a massive recall of its airbag inflators, which were fitted into millions of cars around the world. Faults with [...]
United Utilities grows revenue and increases dividend for the year but operating profit takes a hit May 26, 2016 United Utilities avoided the impact of new regulated price controls to grow its revenue during the year to 31 March, benefiting from higher-than-expected usage. The figures Revenue was up to £1.73bn from £1.72bn in the year to March 2015. Operating profit dropped to £567.9m from £653.3m, which the company put down to the new price controls – [...]
US crude oil inventories dropped sharply last week, data from the US Energy Information Administration shows May 25, 2016 US crude inventories dropped by 4.2m barrels in the week ending 20 May, a much bigger loss than was previously expected. Traders had been gearing up for a drop of around 1.7m barrels. Oil has been trading up all day, with US crude hitting a seven-month high overnight, and global benchmark Brent up 0.89 per cent [...]
Netflix and Amazon face European quotas under new EU rules aimed at creating a ‘single digital market’ May 25, 2016 The European Commission today unveiled its proposed new rules for video streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon – with the aim of creating a so-called 'single digital market'. However, Netflix claims the new measures will not help achieve this aim. The Commission wants to impose a 20 per cent quota on streaming sites, which [...]
UK floods insurance bill will be £1.3bn, estimates Association of British Insurers May 25, 2016 The final bill for all repairs arising out of the floods caused by storms in December 2015 is expected to hit £1.3bn, according to new research from the Association of British Insurers (ABI). A series of storms – named Desmond, Eva and Frank – hit the UK over the Christmas period, causing a series of [...]
Dixons Carphone reports revenue rise and expects profits to increase by 17 per cent May 25, 2016 Dixons Carphone reported five per cent growth in group revenue for the quarter ending 30 April in a trading update this morning. The company also posted a five per cent increase in sales for the full year, with chief executive Seb James hailing a "very strong performance" in the firm's UK mobile phone business. Like-for-like full [...]
