Ted Baker appoints law firm Herbert Smith Freehills to probe hugging claims December 6, 2018 Fashion chain Ted Baker said this morning it has appointed law firm Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) to investigate claims of forced hugging by its boss Ray Kelvin. The Ftse 250 chain’s shares have been battered since the news emerged that the fashion retailer has launched an internal investigation into harassment claims. In a trading update [...]
Asian stocks rocked by arrest of senior Huawei executive in Canada December 6, 2018 Asian stocks were hit had this morning by news of the arrest of the daughter of the founder of Chinese tech firm Huawei in Canada. Meng Wanzhou, who is also Huawei’s chief financial officer, was arrested in Canada on 1 December and faces extradition to the US. She was arrested in connection with the violation [...]
The colour purple: Cadbury loses latest court battle over trademark December 5, 2018 The Court of Appeal has ruled against chocolate-make Cadbury in a battle over its ability to trademark a shade of purple. Cadbury was attempting to modify a trademark it already holds in relation to the use of a distinctive shade of purple with its chocolate bars. Cadbury’s trade mark for the shade of purple “applied [...]
City watchdog taken to court over failure to act in Royal Bank of Scotland GRG scandal December 5, 2018 A Scottish businessman is taking City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to court over its role in the investigation into the Royal Bank of Scotland’s restructuring unit. According to court documents, frequent RBS critic Neil Mitchell has filed an application for a judicial review of the FCA’s decision not to sanction anyone from RBS’s [...]
Deliveroo riders defeated in High Court battle over collective bargaining rights December 5, 2018 A union acting for a group of Deliveroo riders was defeated today in a High Court fight over whether the delivery firm’s drivers were entitled to collective bargaining rights. In a key decision on the future of the gig economy the court ruled that Deliveroo riders are self-employed and therefore would not be allowed to collectively [...]
Big Four firm KPMG comes through bruising year with strong set of results December 5, 2018 Big Four audit firm KPMG has pushed past the fallout from the collapse of outsourcer Carillion to deliver strong revenue and profit growth. The UK arm of the firm boosted revenue eight per cent to £2.338bn and underlying profit 18 per cent to £356m in the year to 30 September. The strong growth comes despite [...]
Joules shines amid retail gloom as it prepares for Brexit December 5, 2018 Fashion retailer Joules has bucked the gloomy trend in retail with a strong first half as it prepares for Brexit. Joules, which sells colourful styles inspired by English country life, grew revenue 17.6 per cent to £113.1m in the 26 weeks to 25 November, compared to the same period last year. In a pre-close trading [...]
Broker Numis takes 17 per cent profit hit after boosting headcount December 5, 2018 Broker Numis has today announced profit before tax for the year ended 30 September dropped 17 per cent to £38.3m. Numis said an investment in staff that led to a 16.2 per cent increase in headcount as well as increased technology cost and costs incurred applying with the new Mifid II regulations had dented profits, [...]
Trade body says hardcore of ‘repeat offenders’ are failing to listen to investor views December 4, 2018 The trade body for UK investment managers has written to 32 companies on the Ftse-all share to register concern after they faced significant shareholder dissent for the last two years. The Investment Association (IA) said it was concerned that these companies had appeared on the public register, which tracks significant shareholder dissent, for the same [...]
Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King savages May’s Brexit deal December 4, 2018 The former governor of the Bank of England Lord Mervyn King has slammed Theresa May’s Brexit deal and implicitly criticised his successor Mark Carney. King called the withdrawal agreement "incompetence of a high order". “It simply beggars belief that a government could be hell-bent on a deal that hands over £39 billion, while giving the EU both [...]
