Cemented: Firestone Building unit sold to LafargeHolcim in multi-billion-dollar deal January 7, 2021 LafargeHolcim has snapped up commercial roofing leader Firestone is to be sold to in a hefty $3.4bn (£2.5bn) deal.
FTSE 100 stutters after touching 6,900 but Wall Street pushes on January 7, 2021 The FTSE 100 stuttered today after touching 6,900 points this morning in yet another fast open to trading, but US markets traded higher again. London’s premier index rose 0.8 per cent at the open to stand at 6,903 points, its highest level since before the pandemic. However, traders soon slammed on the breaks, with the [...]
Sportradar tap fintech veteran to chair global board January 7, 2021 Betting services company Sportradar have raided the world of fintech for the new head of their global board. Jeff Yabuki, who oversaw fifteen years of growth at Nasdaq-listed Fiserv, will take on the role immediately. Fiserv tripled its revenue over the period and delivered nearly 1000 per cent returns to shareholders. Sportradar now employes more [...]
Louis Vuitton owner LVMH completes $16bn takeover of Tiffany & Co January 7, 2021 Louis Vuitton owner LVMH has completed its $16bn takeover of US jewellery brand Tiffany, the companies announced this afternoon. The deal was almost derailed last year when LVMH attempted to abandon the acquisition, prompting Tiffany to take legal action against the luxury goods conglomerate. Following the completion of the transaction, Louis Vuitton executive vice president [...]
Equity funds ride ‘coronacoaster’ to finish 2020 on a high January 7, 2021 Global equity funds closed a torrid year on a record high as investors were buoyed by news of a vaccine rollout. November saw savers invest a record £8.3bn, beating the previous record of £5.7bn net retail sales from September 2017, according to data from the Investment Association (IA). With interest rates at almost zero investors [...]
Exclusive: Bolt offers free rides to Londoners getting Covid vaccine January 7, 2021 Ride-hailing app Bolt has offered to provide Londoners with £250,000 worth of free transport to Covid-19 vaccination centres in a bid to aid the inoculation programme. City A.M. can reveal that the firm has written to the government to offer its services to the NHS. The offer comes as the UK attempts to vaccinate the [...]
Debenhams shuts Irish website as Brexit ‘rule of origin’ clause leaves businesses blindsided January 7, 2021 Debenhams has shut its online business in Ireland as it is unable to send orders to the Republic of Ireland due to new Brexit trade rules. The business, which is in administration, said the website was “temporarily closed” but gave no details on if and when it would be back online. The website apologised to [...]
Mandatory testing is the boost the travel industry needs January 7, 2021 Lockdown 3 has once again decimated the travel industry. There is a total ban on foreign trips except for very specific reasons such as work or urgent medical or compassionate need. We are in a total mess but there is one clear way out. The government needs to act quickly and introduce stringent Covid testing for [...]
Close to 4,000 UK financial firms ‘at risk of collapse’ after first Covid-19 lockdown January 7, 2021 The UK’s first Covid-19 lockdown threatened the viability of around 4,000 financial firms, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said this morning. The financial watchdog surveyed 23,000 smaller financial firms to greater understand the financial impacts of Covid-19 and found that 59 per cent of firms expected blows to their profits due to the pandemic. Others’ [...]
Boots sales slump as shoppers prioritise supermarkets during pandemic January 7, 2021 Boots suffered a sharp drop in sales in the first quarter as consumers shifted towards “one-stop” supermarket shopping during the pandemic, the high street pharmacy’s US owner announced today. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the parent company of the UK chemist chain, said its retail pharmacy division’s sales fell 6.2 per cent to $2.6bn, driven by [...]
