Polypipe latest to join UK IPOs April 11, 2014 Polypipe has become the latest company to make its debut on the UK stockmarket, pricing its offer at 245p per share. The company had a market capitalisation of £490m at the start of conditional dealing. There were 120m shares on offer worth a total of £294m. Cavendish Square Partners held 23 per cent of the shares on [...]
Jupiter Fund Management beats expectations April 11, 2014 Jupiter Fund Management has seen assets under its management increase to £32.2bn in the three months to 31 March. The figure beat stockbroker Numis' estimate of £32.1bn by 0.3 per cent. The company also saw net mutual fund inflows of £465m for the same period and enjoyed £0.5bn of net inflows in the first quarter. It continued [...]
Asian shares take a beating after US tech rout April 11, 2014 Asian shares are taking a beating after major sell-offs in US tech companies left investors shying away from riskier assets and emerging markets. The losses come hot on the heels of a tough day on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq suffering its worst single drop since 2011. Japan was left particularly vulnerable to the tech [...]
UK to take longer to win back triple-A rating if Scotland votes yes says Fitch April 10, 2014 Rating agency Fitch have said if Scotland votes yes to independence the rest of the UK will take longer to regain its triple-A credit rating, which was lost in April 2013. Fitch said its ratings response following a "yes" vote would depend on the terms of agreement between an independent Scotland and the UK. The [...]
EU antitrust regulator weighs in on Lafarge-Holcim deal April 10, 2014 Plans to merge the world's two largest cement companies will be subject to intensive review, according to the EU's boss of antitrust Joaquin Almunia. Swiss company Holcim and French rival Lafarge, announced their intentions to merge last week in a move that could slash operating costs and boost group earnings. The deal would result in [...]
British Gas Business hit with £5.6m penalty April 10, 2014 Energy regulator Ofgem has ordered British Gas Business, a unit of British Gas, to pay £5.6m in fines after the company was found to have incorrectly blocked businesses from switching suppliers. British Gas Business has already paid £1.3m to affected business customers, and is now set to pay £3.4m into an energy efficiency fund plus [...]
Cost cutting pays off for WH Smith as profits rise April 10, 2014 High street retailer WH Smith has seen its cost cutting strategy bear fruit as the group reported a rise in profits before tax of three per cent to £69m, for the six months ended 28 February 2014. The newsagent found £9m of cost savings on the high street in the first half, with a further £5m [...]
Mothercare sales slide but promises lean retail operation April 10, 2014 Baby goods retailer Mothercare has suffered a fall in like-for-like UK sales of 0.3 per cent for the 12-weeks to 29 March, according to the company's latest trading statement. Total UK sales for the troubled retailer also fell by four per cent for the same period. Mothercare also saw worldwide network sales decline by 2.5 [...]
Asian markets shrug off poor Chinese exports April 10, 2014 Asian markets have tempered their earlier optimism as China's latest trade data showed imports and exports under-performing market expectations. In March, export growth came in at -6.6 per cent, significantly weaker than Bloomberg's median forecast of 4.8 per cent. However, markets were reassured that the poor figures were partly attributable to distortions caused by over-invoicing [...]
Tobacco set to suffer as ecigarette revolution takes hold April 9, 2014 Japanese banking giant Nomura is forecasting a steady decline in cigarette volumes as the ecigarette revolution gathers pace. Nomura believes cigarette volumes will fall by 3.8 per cent (five-year compound annual growth rate), while ecigarettes are set to rise to 15 per cent of equivalent units in the US by 2023. Ecigarettes are changing the [...]
