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 [...]
Northern Line misery as severe Tube delays and Bank branch issues hit commuters January 15, 2020 Northern Line commuters face a miserable journey to work today after a faulty train left the line running with severe Tube delays southbound and a limited Bank branch service. Southbound passengers changed at Camden Town this morning for Bank services before Transport for London (TfL) told them no Bank trains were running after the earlier [...]
Watchdog to introduce credit card gambling ban from April January 14, 2020 The gambling watchdog today confirmed it will ban the act of betting with credit card deposits from April. The block will target all online and offline betting to clamp down on problem gambling, apart from “non-remote lotteries” like the National Lottery, where payments are taken face to face. “The ban that we have announced today [...]
Iran plane crash: Hassan Rouhani vows to punish those responsible for ‘unforgivable’ tragedy January 14, 2020 Iran’s president has called the fatal missile attack on a passenger plane an “unforgivable error” and vowed to punish those responsible. It has emerged that some suspects have been arrested in connection with the Iran plane crash. Hassan Rouhani added that authorities would investigate the “tragic” crash thoroughly, adding that “one person cannot be solely [...]
Sterling sinks below $1.30 as hints of interest rate cut grow January 13, 2020 Sterling has fallen below $1.30 as traders expect the Bank of England to slash interest rates if the UK economy underperforms. The pound tumbled in early trading, sinking 0.5 per cent from $1.3044 to $1.2996 this morning before the release of UK GDP data. Read more: Carney rate cut comment sends pound crashing to two-week [...]