Foxtons revenue dips despite pent-up lockdown demand October 29, 2020 London estate agent chain Foxtons said business picked up “significantly” in the third quarter, but admitted that rents had fallen due to weakening demand. Group revenue for the three months to 30 September was £28.5m, down 10 per cent compared to last year. Foxtons’ share price fell more than four per cent this morning as [...]
Shell boosts dividend as oil giant beats profit forecasts October 29, 2020 Oil giant Shell beat analyst expectations for profit in the third quarter of a year, but the Anglo-Dutch firm’s income remained at historically low levels. It will also increase its dividend by four per cent, just months after slashing it by two-third, the first reduction since World War Two. The FTSE 100 firm posted $955m [...]
StanChart considers resuming dividend after quarterly profit beats estimate October 29, 2020 Standard Chartered said it would consider resuming dividends after reporting a smaller-than-expected 40 per cent drop in third quarter profit as it lowered coronavirus loan loss expectations. The UK-based, Asia-focused lender posted an underlying pre-tax profit of $745m (£572m) for the three months to September, significantly ahead of bank-compiled analyst forecasts of $502m, Standard Chartered [...]
Shaun Bailey accuses Sadiq Khan of wasting nearly £10bn of TfL cash October 29, 2020 Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has today accused Mayor Sadiq Khan of wasting nearly £9.6bn in Transport for London (TfL) finances since 2016. According to Bailey, the failure to deliver the Crossrail rail link on time has cost £5.2bn, while pensions have drained £828m from TfL’s finances over the period. A freeze of Tube [...]
Model railway brand Hornby returns to profit on lockdown boom October 29, 2020 Model railway company Hornby has returned to a profit for the first time in nearly a decade after an upsurge in interest for its products during lockdown. The group reported a 33 per cent increase in revenue to £21.1m in the first half of the year, up from £15.9m in 2019. And the Margate-based Hornby [...]
FTSE 100 edges higher after Covid sparks sharp sell-off October 29, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose slightly this morning after tumbling three per cent yesterday as investors braced themselves for a tough winter of rising coronavirus cases and new government restrictions. London’s main stock index climbed was last up 0.3 per cent at 5,600 points. Despite the slight gain, the index remained at around a six-month low. [...]
WPP client wins help revenue decline slow October 29, 2020 Ad giant WPP reported another fall in sales in the third quarter but the pace of decline slowed from the previous quarter. The British owner of the Ogilvy, Grey and GroupM agencies said its like-for-like sales had dropped by 5.5 per cent to £2.97bn, compared with a 11.5 per cent drop in the previous quarter. [...]
Second lockdown ‘not inevitable’, says Robert Jenrick October 29, 2020 Ministers are doing “everything we can to avoid a full national lockdown”, housing secretary Robert Jenrick said this morning. Speaking to Sky News after France and Germany both ordered new coronavirus lockdowns last night, Jenrick said that a second set of full restrictions was not “inevitable”. He added that the government believes it can control [...]
BT profit drops a fifth but telecoms giant boosts guidance October 29, 2020 Telecoms giant BT said that half-year profit had slipped 20 per cent this morning but still boosted its earnings guidance for the full year. Post-tax profit dropped from £1.07bn last year to £856m, while revenue at the FTSE 100 firm fell eight per cent to £10.6bn. The company said that the fall was due to [...]
The City View: Michael Hewson on how markets could react to the US election October 29, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by CMC Markets’ chief market analyst Michael Hewson, who gives his take on the state of the US economy and how markets could respond to either a Biden victory or four more years of Donald Trump. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Michael looks at the current health of [...]
