August bank holiday 2015 train travel disruption: Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Waterloo East and London Bridge among several stations closed August 28, 2015 Hoping to travel by train this bank holiday? Think again: it looks like there will be pretty widespread disruption to rail services in London and the rest of the country between tomorrow and Monday. Here's just how bad it's going to get. Trains in and out of London are going to be severely [...]
Advertising giant WPP beats expectations as Sir Martin Sorrell says he is still bullish on China August 26, 2015 WPP's share price fell more than one per cent this morning, despite beating expectations on both profit and like-for-likes. The figures The advertising giant reported headline profit before tax up 12.1 per cent to £596m – ahead of expectations that it would come in around £590m – and up 13.2 per cent on a constant [...]
Dublin Airport closed, all flights including Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Lufthansa suspended as firefighters tackle huge fire in hangar August 26, 2015 Flights have resumed at Dublin Airport with severe delays, after a huge fire broke out in one of the hangers All flights were suspended for around two hours while fire crew attend to the blaze, which has now been contained. Incoming planes were diverted to Shannon and Belfast. The fire broke out shortly [...]
China crash: This is China’s Lehman Brothers moment and global liquidity is to blame August 25, 2015 August is the cruellest investment month, once more, and disappearing money flows are again the culprit behind crashing stock markets. The gyrations in global liquidity explain market movements around six-12 months ahead and predict economies over the following year. The problem right now is that despite the well-flagged easing by the ECB and Bank of [...]
Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) Berlin headquarters evacuated over bomb threat August 25, 2015 Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) party Berlin headquarters have been evacuated after receiving a bomb threat this afternoon. SPD general secretary Yasmin Fahimi told German media the party had received a bomb threat at 3pm local https://twitter.com/BILD/status/636176217134252032 It is thought the bomb threat was made in relation to party chairman's Sigmar Gabreal's visit [...]
Chinese crash: Volatility “fear” indices Vix and VStoxx are peaking well above historical averages August 25, 2015 European markets may be more buoyant today, but if the fear indices are anything to go by, there is still plenty of unrest among investors. The US' Vix index – which measures the market's expectation of 30-day volatility on the S&P 500, as implied by the prices of near-term options – has leaped on [...]
Bank Station reopened after Jubilee line signal failure causes major overcrowding; as TfL offices evacuated August 25, 2015 Bank is only being used for exit and interchange due to overcrowding after parts of the Jubilee line was out of action for over an hour this morning. The Jubilee line went down at 7:45am because of signal failures in the Stratford area, and only returned at 9am. Initially the line was suspended [...]
Supermarket wars: Big Four in big trouble as Tesco, Asda and Morrisons register more declines August 25, 2015 Tesco is still struggling to shrug off competition from the discount supermarkets, as data released this morning reveals yet more declines. While consumer spend within the grocery sector rose 0.9 per cent for the 12 weeks to 16 August, at Tesco it dropped by the same proportion. The price of a comparable basket of [...]
Chinese economic slowdown: Devaluation and volatility should not put off Western retailers August 25, 2015 The surprise decision by the China's central bank to devalue its currency on three consecutive days has been linked to China’s state authorities’ attempts to boost its struggling economy. It is, however, unlikely to cause significant disruption to many Western retailers who are supplying in the region. The correction may have been a gesture to [...]
Poundland’s share price soars as discount retailer gets greenlight for 99p Stores takeover August 25, 2015 Poundland's acquisition of (more) budget rival 99p Stores has been given the provisional go-ahead by the competition watchdog, sending the listed company's share price soaring. The Competition and Markets Authority this morning said the merger “may not be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition”. It said: "Along with Poundworld, [...]
