Intu shares fall as it enters talks to raise more money January 20, 2020 Intu today confirmed it will seek to raise equity as it works to patch up its shaky balance sheet after a dreadful 2019 for retailers. The commercial real estate giant today insisted it was making “good progress” on improving its balance sheet, hailing a “busy” Christmas and saying footfall was 0.3 per cent up last [...]
Khamenei says Iran missile strikes were ‘slap in face’ for US January 17, 2020 Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a Friday prayers sermon today that Iran’s missile strikes on US military bases in Iraq were a “slap in the face” to the superpower. Khamanei, giving his first sermon since 2012, added that the country would not bend to pressure despite the US imposing sanctions in the [...]
Brexiters raise £150,000 for Big Ben Brexit bongs – but it could all be for nothing January 17, 2020 Brexiters have funnelled over £150,000 into a fundraising campaign to ring Big Ben to mark Brexit Day on 31 January – but the cash could not be enough, the Prime Minister has warned. The “Big Ben must bong for Brexit” campaign, set up by Stand Up 4 Brexit, is seeking to raise the £500,000 required [...]
Rare £1 Edward VIII coin sells for £1m January 17, 2020 A £1 coin featuring the Queen’s uncle Edward VIII has sold for a record £1m to a private collector in a deal brokered by the Royal Mint. The coin, one of only six produced, commemorates the ascension to the throne of Edward VIII in January 1936. He then abdicated in December that same year to [...]
Experian warns of ‘weak’ UK and Europe business sales January 17, 2020 Credit scoring giant Experian posted a rise in revenue for the end of 2019 despite drops in the UK and Europe. Revenue grew seven per cent in the three months to the end of December, Experian revealed today as it stuck to guidance for its full-year results. While Experian’s North America and Latin America divisions [...]
Rio Tinto blames the weatherman as iron ore shipments slip January 17, 2020 Rio Tinto posted a quarter-on-quarter climb in iron ore shipments for the end of 2019, when they hit 86.8m tonnes in the fourth quarter. That represented a one per cent rise on the third quarter despite a four per cent drop in production to 83.6m tonnes. But over the full year, production and shipment figures [...]
Pearson shares sink as print woes hurt 2020 profit target January 16, 2020 Investors sent Pearson’s share price down to its lowest level since 2008 in early trading today after the education publisher warned its painful shift to digital would drag into 2020. Pearson’s legacy print textbook business sank another 12 per cent over 2019, the firm said today as it predicted annual profit of £590m, at the [...]
Halfords hails Christmas bike sales as it sticks to profit target January 16, 2020 Strong Christmas bike sales helped Halfords stick to full-year profit guidance of between £50m and £55m today as it unveiled figures for the festive period. Group revenue rose 4.6 per cent in the 14 weeks to 3 January while like-for-like sales climbed 1.3 per cent as the repair shop reconfirmed its operating profit target. Cycling [...]
New cinemas and indie hits like Knives Out help Everyman book record sales January 15, 2020 A rapid expansion and the success of breakout indie movies like Rian Johnson’s Knives Out pushed Everyman to a record £65m revenue in 2019, the cinema chain revealed today. The record sales, a 25 per cent jump on the previous year, were underpinned by the opening of seven new venues to take Everyman to a [...]
Tullow Oil books $1.5bn writedown as it cuts outlook for oil prices January 15, 2020 Tullow Oil sounded the alarm on oil prices today, booking a $1.5bn (£1.15bn) writedown on its outlook after lowering its long-term oil price outlook. The energy firm slashed its prediction for oil prices by $10 to $65 a barrel, with underwhelming well exploration and a reduction in Ghanian reserves also contributing to the writedown. “Tullow [...]