Carpetright sales drop as CFO leaves but pace of decline slows February 5, 2019 Carpetright’s UK like-for-like sales fell in the three months to the end of January, but the pace of decline slowed compared to the first half of the year, the retailer said in a trading update today. “Trading patterns have remained volatile week to week, against a backdrop of uncertainty and weak consumer confidence,” the company [...]
Ocado’s revenue nears £1.6bn but losses widen February 5, 2019 Online food retailer Ocado announced 13 per cent revenue growth to nearly £1.6bn today, but losses after tax increased more than fourfold to nearly £45m. The company has seen its share price more than double over the last year, with news late last month that it was in talks for a partnership with Marks & [...]
BP shares rise as oil giant more than doubles profit in bumper 2018 February 5, 2019 Oil major BP’s profit more than doubled in 2018, its fourth-quarter financial results showed today, sending shares up five per cent to 545.7p in early trading. The figures BP grew profit to $9.383bn (£7.19bn) in profit attributable to shareholders for the full year, up from $3.389bn in 2017. Return on average capital was 11.2 per [...]
Lloyd’s of London hires chief financial officer from Allianz February 4, 2019 Lloyd’s of London has appointed former senior Allianz executive Burkhard Keese as chief financial officer. The insurance market has hired Keese from the German insurance giant where he spent 14 years, most recently as chief financial officer of Allianz Deutschland. Keese’s hire comes as Lloyd’s new chief executive John Neal moves to build his executive [...]
Confidence in the UK economy among financial services professionals hits record low February 4, 2019 Confidence in the UK’s economic prospects among financial services professionals is at a record low, a new survey showed today. A poll of its members by trade body the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) showed confidence was at its lowest level since it began the survey in 2012. Of the 1,062 respondents, 55 [...]
Elon Musk test fires new Space X Raptor rocket engine for Starship space craft February 4, 2019 Eccentric tech billionaire Elon Musk’s space exploration company Space X has test fired the Raptor engine for its Starship space craft. Musk tweeted videos of the tests today from Space X’s Texas base. Read more: Elon Musk wants you to work 100 hours a week First firing of Starship Raptor flight engine! So proud of [...]
EU countries recognise opposition leader Guaido as president of Venezuela February 4, 2019 The UK, France, Spain and Sweden have recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela after a deadline for President Nicholas Maduro to call fresh presidential elections expired. British Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt wrote on twitter: Nicolas Maduro has not called Presidential elections within 8 day limit we have set. So UK [...]
Iron ore miner Ferrexpo to probe charity partner over financial discrepancies February 4, 2019 London-listed iron ore miner Ferrexpo said today it was probing the accounts of a Ukrainian charity that helps run its corporate social responsibility programme. Ferrexpo said the charity, Blooming Land, has sent copies of its bank statements to its auditors Deloitte which had discovered “unexplained discrepancies”. Ferrexpo said it was launching a “comprehensive independent review” [...]
Indivior sells China opioid treatment drug as it looks to focus on its core products February 4, 2019 Drug company Indivior has agreed to sell its rights related to the Sai Bo Song (buprenorphine, naloxone) tablet in China to Zhejiang Pukang Biotechnology for $122.5m (£93.6m). The pharmaceutical company said the sale of the tablet was part of its strategy to focus its resources on its core assets and markets. "The divestiture of the [...]
Ryanair falls to €20m loss as O’Leary signs new five-year contract February 4, 2019 Budget airline Ryanair today said it suffered a €20m (£17.5m) loss in the third quarter of its financial year, blaming weaker ticket prices. The airline also said that longstanding chief executive Michael O’Leary had signed a five-year contract for the role of group chief executive, as the company moves to a new structure. Read more: Ryanair [...]
