TJ Maxx owner scores highest store sales increase in two years August 21, 2018 Cut-price clothing retailer TJ Maxx’s owner today hailed double-digit growth in net sales and stronger growth in same-store sales than it’s experienced in two years. The figures TJX reported a 12 per cent year-on-year rise in net sales to $9.3bn (£7.2bn) for its second quarter results, eclipsing last year’s three per cent growth in revenue. [...]
The UK’s 2017-18 budget deficit hits an 11-year low August 21, 2018 The UK recorded its largest July surplus for 18 years last month, standing at £2bn, as ONS figures revealed robust deficit reduction in Britain’s finances. July’s surplus was double that from a year ago, with economic growth and high employment credited with fuelling the increase, handing Chancellor Philip Hammond cash he can put towards his [...]
Angling Direct shares rise as it reels in revenue growth August 21, 2018 Angling Direct beat its own expectations to reveal revenue growth had grown by more than 50 per cent year-on-year in a trading update today. The figures The fishing products retailer saw a 56 per cent year-on-year revenue increase to £22m, citing strong store and online sales despite the summer heatwave. E-commerce sales were up 60 per cent [...]
Sage shares plummet after Deutsche Bank’s investor warning August 20, 2018 Sage shares tumbled by as much as seven per cent on Monday following Deutsche Bank’s recommendation that investors sell the stock, saying the accounting software firm faced intense competition in its mid-market. The back office IT services business, which also offers enterprise resource planning and HR software, saw shares slip to £6.19 after the bank’s advisory [...]
Paddy Power completes £200m share buyback August 20, 2018 Paddy Power today completed the first £200m tranche of its share buyback programme. Goldman Sachs International bought up 2.4m shares on the bookmaker’s behalf, cancelling them all, as it embarks on the second tranche to repurchase £300m of shares, which Goodbody Stockbrokers is carrying out. The company is trying to reduce its share capital, announcing [...]
AI could lead to mass unemployment, warns Bank of England August 20, 2018 Widespread reskilling is essential to avert a future in which AI creates long-term unemployment, the Bank of England’s chief economist warned on Monday. Andy Haldane predicted that machine automation will lead to a “hollowing out” of the jobs market “on a much greater scale in the future” than during the revolutions of coal, electricity and computing [...]
Mayor of London: Capital must prepare for no-deal Brexit August 17, 2018 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has tasked the body responsible for preventing a repeat of the Grenfell Tower fire with examining London’s preparations for a no-deal Brexit scenario. The London Resilience Forum will seek to establish what access the capital has to food, medicine, energy and emergency services in the event of the UK leaving [...]
EU reveals huge trade surplus over the US August 17, 2018 The EU recorded a gaping trade surplus of €67bn over the US in the six months to June yesterday, potentially adding grist to the mill for US President Donald Trump, whose tariffs against the bloc threatened to take the pair into trade war territory earlier this summer. EU exports to the US grew four per cent to [...]
Price is right for Asda as it scores fifth quarter of growth August 16, 2018 Asda continued its streak of growth yesterday with a fifth consecutive rise in same-store sales ahead of its proposed merger with Sainsbury’s. The supermarket posted a 2.4 per cent improvement in net sales in its second quarter results, fuelled by its online business and a 25 per cent jump in sales of its George clothing [...]
Tory MP Owen Paterson thinks Jaguar Land Rover will thrive after Brexit July 5, 2018 A hard Brexit would leave Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) "better off", according to pro-Brexit MP Owen Paterson. The politician said the car manufacturer would benefit from cheaper car parts across the globe, in response to JLR boss Ralf Speth's warning that his firm's five-year £80bn investment plansfor the UK are threatened by a no deal [...]
