Asian markets flat as Chinese shares disappoint April 22, 2014 Asian shares are broadly flat as weak Chinese shares offset a positive day on Wall Street.The Chinese Enterprises Index fell by one per cent to its lowest point in nearly four weeks. Fears over a slowdown in the Chinese economy were reinforced over the past week as Great Wall Motor and Air China reported poor [...]
Berlin follows Brussels with Uber ban April 17, 2014 Germany's capital city has followed the lead of Brussels and banned the insurgent taxi service Uber. The San-Francisco based company was served with an injunction by a Berlin court for hurting competition. In a sign that European taxi drivers are increasingly worried they may have to provide a quality service at a decent price, the [...]
EU doubles down on drug war failure April 17, 2014 The European Parliament has voted for a host of new laws and regulations governing so called "legal highs." The time taken to ban psychoactive substances deemed to be harmful has been slashed from two years to ten months. If there is perceived to be an immediate risk, a substance can be placed under a one [...]
Beleaguered Co-op reveals £2.5bn loss April 17, 2014 The Co-op has unveiled losses of £2.5bn. The group admitted it had been a "disastrous" year, going so far as to say it was the worst in its 150-year history. Interim chief executive Richard Penny cook, commented "these results should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who doubts just how serious the challenges we [...]
What you need to know before the open April 17, 2014 European markets are expected to open flat this morning as poorer than expected results from both Google and IBM offset the well-received dovish comments of Federal Reserve chair Jane Yellen. Google shares dipped as much as five per cent in after hours trading last night, after it reported revenues for the first quarter of the [...]
Currency movements hit Diageo sales April 17, 2014 Diageo, the world's largest spirits maker, has reported a rise of 0.3 per cent in organic net sales growth for the nine months ended 31 March. However, organic net sales fell by 1.3 per cent for the quarter. Diageo is having a tough time in emerging markets due to currency volatility and worries over the [...]
City & Gild: How Tesco can make us fall back in love with its brand April 17, 2014 Tesco’s current strategy worries me enormously, especially off the back of a six per cent fall in profits. Chief executive Philip Clarke has confidently explained, “Tesco will be firmly established as a middle-market retailer, which offers low prices and good quality – all under one roof”. My translation of this is essentially, “we’re going to [...]
Asian markets rise as Yellen reaffirms commitment to low rates April 17, 2014 Asian markets have seen minor gains after the US posted better than expected industrial production figures, and the chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen reaffirmed the Fed's commitment to supporting the recovery. Investors were reassured by Yellen's remarks to the Economic Club of New York that the US would "likely require low real interest [...]
Regulation of ecigarettes will be one of tobacco’s greatest saviours April 16, 2014 Yesterday, Imperial tobacco announced it would be shutting its factories in England and France. The maker of French tobacco favourites such as Gauloises and Gitanes will be moving production to Spain. Declining sales and a hostile regulatory environment have been the dominant story of the tobacco world for the past decade. However, there may still [...]
Persimmon forward sales rocket 38pc April 16, 2014 Housebuilder Persimmon has seen its total forward sales revenue climb 35 per cent higher compared to what it was in 2013. The company also has 7,200 new homes sold forward into the private sale market for 2014, 38 per cent ahead of the same point in 2013. The average selling price climbed three per cent [...]
