United Utilities pockets £88m for stake in Estonian water company February 3, 2021 United Utilities has agreed to a £88m cash deal to sell its 35.3 per cent stake in the largest water utility company in Estonia, Tallin Water. The utilities company will sell the stake to a consortium led by the Estonian city of Tallinn, which is an existing partner of United Utilities, alongside company Utilitas. Company [...]
Number of FTSE 100 top positions held by black people drops to zero February 3, 2021 There is not a single black business leader at any FTSE 100 company in the UK despite businesses pledging to do more for racial inequality. Research by executive recruitment consultancy Green Park has found that the number of black people filling leadership positions of chairman, chief executive or finance chief at FTSE 100 firms is [...]
Asda’s petrol station business sold to EG Group for £750m as part of takeover deal February 3, 2021 The Issa brothers and TDR Capital have announced that they will sell Asda’s petrol station business to EG Group, which they also own, for £750m after they complete their deal to buy the supermarket giant. The consortium announced this morning that the Asda deal is expected to complete later this month, subject to regulatory approval. [...]
Asset managers call for urgent action on Libor transition February 3, 2021 Investment managers are calling on FTSE 350 companies to “step up” their efforts to transition away from Libor-linked bonds worth £108bn. “With the deadline now fast-approaching, there remains a significant number of outstanding Libor-linked bonds which have not yet transitioned to a new rate,” The Investment Association (IA) said in a letter to companies issuing [...]
KPMG partners take 11 per cent pay cut as Covid-19 eats into profits February 3, 2021 Partners at KPMG have had their pay cut by an average of 11 per cent, from some £640,000 to £572,000, as Covid-19 hit profits and revenue at the firm. KPMG’s chairman was paid £1.7m for the year, a decrease of 14 per cent on 2019. Partners across Big Four firms saw pay cuts in [...]
With Ether smashing through $1,500, MicroStrategy’s online ‘Bitcoin for Corporations’ event might send BTC stratospheric February 3, 2021 Crypto at a Glance There have been so many all-time highs set recently that it’s getting hard to keep up, but seeing Ethereum at over $1,500 will be particularly satisfying for many in the space. Is it now set to follow Bitcoin’s December trajectory and take off into the stratosphere? It’s good news everywhere today, [...]
GameStop dubbed ‘greater fool speculative bubble’ as stock price tumbles February 3, 2021 The share price of US video game retailer GameStop slid 60 per cent yesterday to $90, down from a high of $347 at the height of a Reddit-instigated short-squeeze on the stock. GameStop shares rocketed in January after a community led by Reddit forum r/wallstreetbets banded together and piled hundreds of thousands of dollars into [...]
UK PMIs: Services activity plunges to lowest level since May February 3, 2021 UK services activity fell to its lowest levels since last May as stricter coronavirus lockdowns battered the country’s businesses. The IHS Markit/Cips purchasing managers (PMI) index for services registered 39.4 in January, with any score below the 50 mark indicating contraction. That’s more than a 10 point drop from last month’s reading, one of the biggest falls [...]
Santander records biggest loss ever as pandemic bites and profits plunge February 3, 2021 Santander recorded its first ever annual loss today, as €1.14bn restructuring costs overshadowed positive core banking results in the fourth quarter. Net profit plunged 90 per cent to €277m in the quarter versus the same period a year earlier, below the €411m average forecast from analysts polled by Reuters. The annual net loss was €8.77bn [...]
Surge in pandemic data demand pushes up Vodafone revenues February 3, 2021 Vodafone’s revenue rose for the first time since March as demand for high-speed broadband soared across Europe. The British-based mobile carrier saw revenue rise 0.4 per cent in the third quarter, outperforming the 0.2 per cent decline predicted by analysts. Shares leaped by 3.2 per cent as several analysts backed Vodafone as a stock to [...]
