Amazon Prime Day delivers as sales skyrocket July 23, 2015 ONLINE retail giant Amazon smashed expectations last night, revealing $23.2bn (£14.9bn) in sales during the three months to 30 June. Analysts had high hopes for Amazon’s sales, with forecasts of a 16 per cent jump, which the company managed to out-do, pushing revenue up by 20 per cent. The group returned to profit during the [...]
Flat white makes starbucks profits frothy July 23, 2015 STARBUCKS yesterday reported higher quarterly profit, as new drinks such as the flat white helped to heat up sales in the Americas. The world’s biggest coffee chain’s net earnings jumped 22 per cent to $626.7m (£404m) and revenue rose 18 per cent to $4.88bn.
Cuadrilla set to appeal fracking refusal decision July 23, 2015 Shale gas company Cuadrilla said yesterday that it will not back down in its attempt to kick-start the UK’s fracking industry. The firm announced plans to appeal against a decision last month by Lancashire County Council (LCC) to refuse planning consent for two shale gas exploration sites. Cuadrilla sought planning permission to drill, hydraulically fracture [...]
Government to scrap Green Deal Finance Company funding after insulation scheme fails to take off July 23, 2015 Government funding for the Green Deal Finance Company has ended due to low take up of the scheme to insulate homes, the department of energy & climate change (DECC) announced yesterday. The project, which provided loans for householders to use in paying for home insulation, failed to live up to expectations DECC described the decision [...]
Rescued banks are not out of the woods yet: New FCA rules to improve account transparency for customers July 23, 2015 The City watchdog put more pressure on the financial sector yesterday with new rules that could see banks and building societies named and shamed for paying poor interest rates to longstanding customers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that from next year, firms will have to provide clear information on how much interest savers are paid [...]
TSB profits slide as boss sounds off on bank levy July 23, 2015 TSB SHARES were up slightly at the close yesterday, despite the bank seeing a double-digit drop in profits for the first half after being impacted by a number of factors, including the takeover by Sabadell. The bank, which is being bought by Spanish group Banco Sabadell in a £1.7bn deal, said pre-tax profits were down 20.1 [...]
Tidjane Thiam points Credit Suisse to private banking as profits jump July 23, 2015 Credit Suisse’s new chief executive Tidjane Thiam said yesterday that the bank would place greater emphasis on private banking and wealth management after it comfortably beat market expectations in the second quarter. “We want to rebalance towards private banking and wealth management… as opposed to the investment bank,” Thiam told CNBC. Switzerland’s second biggest bank [...]
Bank of America share price dips: Brian Moynihan, Paul Donofrio and Andrea Smith step up as Bruce Thompson and David Darnell move on July 23, 2015 Bank of America shares fell 1.46 per cent yesterday after chief executive Brian Moynihan named the fourth chief financial officer of his tenure since he took charge in 2010. Bruce Thompson stepped down on Wednesday after five and a half years as chief risk officer and chief financial officer. He will be replaced by the [...]
UK tills emptier despite purchases rising in June as shoppers enjoy falling prices July 23, 2015 Brits spent less money in shops in June as retail sales struggle to gain momentum, a new set of data shows. The amount of money spent dropped 0.1 per cent from May to June, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics yesterday. In the three months to the end of June, the [...]
Utopian Unilever is making waves: Boss Paul Polman is pushing an ethical agenda, but is it working? July 23, 2015 The website still exists but looks dated. SaveBenandJerrys.com, a grassroots campaign website with comic sans font, tried to stop ethical ice cream brand Ben and Jerry’s being scooped up by corporate giant Unilever in 2000. Yet 15 years after the consumer giant’s $326m takeover, the howls of protest appear a strange anachronism after moves [...]
