Wall Street tanks as tech stocks drag down market February 25, 2021 Wall Street has tanked today, with technology stocks in particularly dragging down the markets. The S&P 500 was down more than 2 per cent at one point, and retreating technology stocks dragged the Nasdaq down more than 3 per cent, as the benchmark 10-year note yields surged above 1.6 per cent to the highest in [...]
Stocking up: Booze brand Virgin Wines confirms £110m London float February 25, 2021 Alcohol subscription service Virgin Wines today confirmed plans to list on the London Stock Exchange next week in a move that will value the company at £110m. The booze business, which has been a major lockdown winner, will debut on the Aim market on 2 March. Virgin Wines said it will place 6.6m new ordinary [...]
Aston Martin careers to £320m loss as car sales fall a third February 25, 2021 Iconic sports car brand Aston Martin fell to a £322m operating loss in 2020, the firm said this morning, as coronavirus restrictions saw car sales fall a third. In line with this fall, total retail sales slipped 32 per cent, from 6,150 last year to 4,150 this year. Despite the fall in sales, however, shares [...]
Goldman Sachs and Rolls Royce team up with Code First Girls to help close gender skills gap February 25, 2021 Goldman Sachs, Rolls Royce and Bank of America, among others, are teaming up with Code First Girls, a UK group dedicated to closing gender skills gaps and bringing women into technology roles. Code First Girls will provide mentorship programmes along with up to £10,000 in free education to women undertaking technology related training courses. The [...]
Standard Chartered to cut office space as dividend returns despite profit hit February 25, 2021 Standard Chartered will resume its dividend for the full year despite a sharp fall in profit due to the pandemic, as it unveiled plans to slash office space in the coming years. The London-based lender, which halted its payout last year at the request of the Bank of England, said it will pay a dividend [...]
Anglo American profit tumbles but metal prices keep earnings steady February 25, 2021 Mining giant Anglo American this morning said that profit slipped 40 per cent in 2020, falling from $3.5bn to $2.1bn, as the coronavirus dried up demand for commodities around the world. However, its earnings – Anglo American’s preferred metric – came in at $9.8bn, ahead of the $9.4bn predicted by analysts. That’s just short of [...]
Drax ditches plans for gas-fired power plants in climate push February 25, 2021 British power generator Drax has abandoned plans for new gas-fired power plants as it strives to become carbon negative by 2030. The UK firm had proposed to replace its existing coal units with gas-fired alternatives, but the company backed out in a statement on Thursday. Britain is aiming to close all coal-fired power plants by [...]
Gambling giant Flutter taps Vice boss Nancy Dubuc in boardroom shake-up February 25, 2021 Flutter Entertainment has appointed Vice chief executive Nancy Dubuc as a non-executive director as part of a boardroom shake-up aimed at redressing the company’s gender balance. Dubuc, a media industry veteran, has led youth-oriented Vice Media since 2018. Prior to this she was chief executive of A&E Television Networks. Flutter, formerly known as Paddy Power [...]
O2’s £31bn Virgin Media merger ‘will help UK pandemic recovery’, says CEO February 25, 2021 O2’s proposed £31bn tie-up with Virgin Media will accelerate investment in telecoms infrastructure and bolster the UK’s post-pandemic recovery, the mobile network’s boss has said. The mega-merger, agreed last year by O2 owner Telefonica and Virgin Media parent Liberty Global, is facing an in-depth probe by regulators amid concerns it could harm competition. But O2 [...]
BAE Systems navigates Covid turbulence as sales soar February 25, 2021 Aerospace giant BAE Systems hailed a strong full year performance this morning as sales rose by 4 per cent to £20.9bn in 2020. Operating profit edged up by £31m to £1.9bn as customers rallied for defence and security solutions. Meanwhile, statutory profit was down 11 per cent to £1.3bn. Revenue increased by £1bn to £19.3bn, [...]
