Supermarket price war attracts short sellers to record positions in sector June 9, 2015 It's no secret UK supermarkets have been under the cosh both in terms of the ongoing price war with discounters Aldi and Lidl, as well as several problems of their own making. Now it seems short sellers are making hay while the sun shines. The sector has attracted record interest from short sellers, with [...]
Grey swans turning white and artificial intelligence: These are the five best bits from Sir Martin Sorrell’s update June 9, 2015 Ahead of WPP's AGM today – in which Sir Martin Sorrell's pay packet was contested, but not thrown out – the advertising giant released its annual statement. As with previous years it was packed full with words of wisdom from Sorrell, looking at macro, political and social pressures as well as what was happening [...]
WPP shareholders revolt against Sir Martin Sorrell’s £43m pay (but not as many as last year) June 9, 2015 More than a fifth of WPP shareholders have refused to back Sir Martin Sorrell's £43m pay package – but that is less than this time last year. At today's AGM 19.5 per cent of investors in the marketing and advertising giant voted against Sorrell's pay, while 2.7 per cent absented. While that means [...]
National Blood Week: Businesses including Waterstones, Santander, Fullers and Odeon drop letters to support #MissingType campaign June 9, 2015 Letters are going missing around the UK. But it's nothing to do with Royal Mail… Business logos and London street signs – including Downing Street – are missing letters as part of a major new campaign to increase the numbers of blood donors. Companies as varied as banking group Santander, ale brand London [...]
HSBC to rebrand UK retail banking arm – or possibly sell it June 9, 2015 HSBC will rebrand its UK retail banking arm as part of a move to ring-fence it from the rest of the group. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver, who this morning revealed HSBC was cutting 25,000 jobs worldwide, of which 8,000 are expected to be UK jobs, said he was not certain he would keep the [...]
HSBC job cuts: Unions slam move as punishing staff for “boardroom misconduct” June 9, 2015 Could Canary Wharf become a stage for the next major picket line? HSBC staff cuts have been blasted by unions, claiming the bank's employees are being “punished for boardroom misconduct”. This morning Europe's biggest bank revealed it was cutting up to 25,000 jobs worldwide, as it looks to make $5bn (£3.25bn) savings. Around [...]
Transport for London commissioner Sir Peter Hendy made almost £500,000 last year June 9, 2015 The Transport for London commissioner who said commuter trains were “s**t” earned £488,000 last year, according to a Transport for London (TfL) spokesman. Sir Peter Hendy's total package for 2013/14 was £488,888 and remained "unchanged" in 2014/15. However, last year it dropped by almost 25 per cent. Of that, just over £155,000 was [...]
Transport for London: If you’re travelling on Central Line you need to “replan your journey” after signal failure causes “carnage” June 9, 2015 A signal failure at Marble Arch was causing travel chaos for Central Line commuters this morning, and the advice was pretty galling to Londoners who had no alternative route. Severe delays were being caused by the problem, which engineers were attempting to fix during rush hour. https://twitter.com/centralline/status/608171743677673472 Central Line's Twitter feed said: [...]
Apple Pay in the UK: These are the retailers and restaurants signed up for the July launch June 9, 2015 Some of the UK's biggest retailers are lining up to start accepting Apple Pay when it launches in the UK next month. As well as being able to use your iPhone or Apple Watch to seamlessly glide through ticket barriers on the Tube, the Silicon Valley giant has its finger hovering over the button [...]
Everything we know about Apple’s new Spotify-killer: Seven reasons why Apple Music wins June 9, 2015 Tech giant Apple has finally gone and done it. Last night it revealed streaming service Apple Music. Here's why it's going to change the shape of the industry – and why it could end up killing off rivals like Spotify. * It launches really soon – June 30 – and will be available in [...]
