Dyson welcomes EU court battle victory that defeats ‘anti-competitive’ vacuum cleaner regulation November 8, 2018 Household appliance maker Dyson successfully overturned EU regulation on the energy labelling of vacuum cleaners today after a lengthy legal battle. The British manufacturer argued tests to establish the energy efficiency of vacuum cleaners were misleading. Billionaire James Dyson's company said the test, which calculates efficiency when vacuum dust bags are empty, discriminated against its own bagless products. [...]
Kingdom come: Burberry’s new fashion line helps profits meet expectations November 8, 2018 Burberry has welcomed a rise in profits in its half-year results following new creative director Riccardo Tisci's debut collection, titled 'Kingdom'. The figures Burberry total revenue declined three per cent year on year to £1.22bn in the 26 weeks to the end of September. But like-for-like store sales were up three per cent, spurred on by growth [...]
Lloyds invests in new digital banking platform November 7, 2018 Lloyds Banking Group said today it had invested in a fintech company whose tech it plans to roll out next year, in the bank’s latest bid to enhance its digital presence. Lloyds has invested £11m for a 10 per cent stake in Thought Machine, which is building a new cloud-based platform aimed at replacing current [...]
Barnardo’s loses pension scheme appeal in Supreme Court November 7, 2018 The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that children's charity Barnado's can not change the index it uses to protect pensions from inflation. In a unanimous verdict judges ruled the charity may not switch the measure of inflation used on its pension scheme from the retail prices index (RPI) to the consumer prices index (CPI). The move to [...]
Don’t look now: UK car sales slump hits car dealer Lookers November 7, 2018 Car dealer Lookers reported positive trading today despite a fall in profit from new cars as the industry continues to reel from new regulations. Lookers said gross profit from new cars was down five per cent year on year in the nine months to the end of September, citing a shortage in supply following strict [...]
Three ploughs £2bn into race to be the first to launch 5G November 7, 2018 Mobile network Three today said it will invest more than £2bn in 5G as operators race to be the first to roll out the new technology. Three said its investment in infrastructure puts it in a strong position for the launch of commercial 5G, which it hopes to bring to customers in the second half of next [...]
ITV warns that economic uncertainty will hit advertising revenues November 7, 2018 ITV's share price fell almost 3 per cent today to 150p as it predicted a dip in advertising revenue at the end of the year as continued economic uncertainty takes its toll on the broadcaster. The channel's performance in the first nine months of the year was in line with expectations, recording a six per cent increase in [...]
Wetherspoon shares fall as it warns that staff wage increase will hurt profits November 7, 2018 J D Wetherspoon shares fell 13 per cent to 1,138p today after it announced a rise in sales, but warned its decision to hand staff a wage increase without increasing prices will impact full-year profits. The pub chain, which has almost 1,000 branches in the UK, said like-for-like sales increased 5.5 per cent and total sales by [...]
Adecco revenue growth halves as slowing economies impact hiring November 6, 2018 Adecco today said its revenue growth slowed to two per cent in the third quarter as economic uncertainty took its toll on hiring. The Swiss recruitment firm’s growth was down from four per cent in the three months to the end of June and slowed further to one per cent in September and October combined. [...]
Michelin’s Dundee factory to close, putting 845 jobs at risk November 6, 2018 Michelin has confirmed plans to close its Dundee tyre factory by mid-2020, saying the site is no longer financially viable. The factory, which opened in 1971 and exclusively manufactures 16-inch and smaller tyres for cars, currently employs 845 people. Michelin blamed the closure on a decline in demand for premium tyres of 16 inches and [...]
