Reopening date for Woodford Income Focus Fund revealed January 31, 2020 An investment fund that once formed part of Neil Woodford’s empire is due to reopen five months after it was frozen, administrator Link Fund Solutions said today. The £268m ASI Income Focus Fund, formerly the Woodford Income Focus Fund, will begin operations again on 13 February, ending a long period of limbo for investors. Once [...]
Gold 50p Brexit coins sell out in hours January 31, 2020 The 50p coin to commemorate Brexit has been beset by problems and repeated delays. Its gold counterpart has proved a glittering success, however. The Royal Mint has said it has now fully sold out ahead of Britain’s departure from the EU at 11pm tonight. The Brexit 50p gold coin is marked with the words, “Peace, [...]
French and Italian economies shrink as Eurozone slows January 31, 2020 The French and Italian economies both unexpectedly contracted in the final quarter of the year as the struggling Eurozone caps off a year of weak growth. France’s economy – the second-biggest in Europe – shrank 0.1 per cent quarter on quarter in the final three months of the year, according to official statistics. Economists had [...]
Struggling recruiter Staffline warns on profit January 31, 2020 UK recruitment firm Staffline has warned its profit will be below its forecast as it deals with the costs of an ongoing accounting review. The board said in December that it expected a full year adjusted operating profit of approximately £10m to £12m. Staffline issued three profit warnings in 2019, a difficult year for the [...]
French Connection takes itself off the market January 31, 2020 UK retailer French Connection has announced that it is no longer for sale, over a year after it started to look for buyers. The fashion chain said it “will now focus on completing its turnaround and build on the progress made in recent years” and also warned of a yearly loss in a market update [...]
Bank of England avoids interest rate cut as Mark Carney bows out January 30, 2020 The Bank of England has held off from an interest rate cut despite a surge in expectations that it would reduce rates for the first time in four years. Today’s decision came even as the Bank slashed its long-term growth forecasts for the UK economy to account for Brexit disruption and Britain’s productivity crisis. Read [...]
Unilever misses sales target and launches review of tea business January 30, 2020 Consumer goods giant Unilever missed its underlying sales target in 2019, its results showed today, with the firm citing “challenging” developed markets. The British-Dutch company also suffered a 33 per cent fall in pre-tax profit in 2019 compared to 2018, when the sale of its spread business bumped up income, bringing down earnings per share. [...]
FTSE 100 back in the red as coronavirus surpasses Sars outbreak January 30, 2020 The FTSE 100 fell sharply in early trading today as European stocks sank into the red after the number of coronavirus cases surpassed the total for the Sars outbreak in the early 2000s. Coronavirus has now killed 170 while the number of infections has risen to 7,700. There were around 5,200 cases of Sars, which [...]
Drinks giant Diageo lowers sales target amid trade tensions January 30, 2020 Beverage behemoth Diageo’s net sales grew by four per cent in the final sixth months of 2019, boosted by growth in the North America and Asia Pacific regions. However, the Guinness-maker cut its sales forecast for the year to June to the lower end of its four to six per cent target as it cited [...]
Trade tensions the biggest threat to markets in 2020, say traders January 30, 2020 Traders are worried about the impact international trade tensions will have on the markets in 2020, but only see Brexit as a minor concern, a new survey from JP Morgan has found. Despite the “phase one” deal between the US and China lessening tensions, 50 per cent of the 650 online traders surveyed by JP [...]
