Global stocks plunge amid oil crash and coronavirus outbreak March 9, 2020 Global stock markets plunged today as a crash in oil prices and the rapid spread of coronavirus caused panic to set in on trading floors around the world. The UK’s FTSE 100 slumped 7.7 per cent in its biggest one-day fall since the 2008 financial crisis. The rout wiped £125bn off the value of the [...]
Diversified Gas and Oil rides out market volatility March 9, 2020 Diversified Gas and Oil posted strong results todayto defy difficulties on the world commodity market. The Alabama-based company reported an adjusted EBITDA of $273.3m (£209.8m) for 2019. Final recommended dividend was 3.50 cents per share, an increase of 24 per cent over the same period in 2018. Total revenue almost doubled to $511.7m, up 87 [...]
NBCUniversal quietly offloads $500m Snapchat stake March 9, 2020 NBCUniversal has quietly offloaded its $500m (£381m) stake in Snapchat as the US media giant ramps up preparations for its new streaming service. Parent company Comcast acquired the shareholding in March 2017 when Snap completed its initial public offering. The investment was passed to NBCUniversal, which then quietly sold off the stake last year. NBCUniversal [...]
Coronavirus: Fifth death in UK as confirmed cases rise to 319 March 9, 2020 A fifth person has died from coronavirus in the UK as the number of confirmed cases in the UK rose to 319. The patient who was in their seventies was being treated at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. Chief executive Daniel Elkeles said: “We can confirm that sadly, a patient in their [...]
Coronavirus: Government plans to advise anyone with a minor fever to self-isolate March 9, 2020 The chief medical officer has said the government is planning to advise anyone with a minor respiratory tract infection or fever to self-isolate for seven days to delay the spread of coronavirus. In a press conference with the Prime Minister and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Professor Chris Whitty said the advice will come [...]
Reforming business rates – is Land Value Tax really a viable alternative? March 9, 2020 The Business Rates system has long been considered by businesses as outdated and in need of reform. It imposes its tax burden whether the business is “in the red or the black”, i.e. profitable or not. Also, whilst purported to be a tax on business collected by means of property, it has a distinct bias [...]
Coronavirus: FTSE 100 loses £144bn after worst day since 2008 March 9, 2020 The FTSE 100 has had £144bn wiped off its value today as it closed below 6,000 points and suffered its biggest intraday fall since 2008. The coronavirus outbreak and plunging oil prices dragged the index down as much as 8.7 per cent to just 5,899 points as it opened following a weekend of coronavirus turmoil. [...]
British Steel survival saga ends as Jingye completes purchase March 9, 2020 The long saga of British Steel’s survival came to its end today as Chinese conglomerate Jingye completed the acquisition of the firm’s UK and Dutch assets from the Official Reciever. The deal, which is reportedly worth £50m, brings to an end 10 months of uncertainty since the firm collapsed last May. Jingye will put £1.2bn [...]
Private equity firms preparing bids for Capita sell-off March 9, 2020 The private equity backer of auction house Bonhams is among a group of funds examining bids for a basket of outsourcer Capita’s non-core businesses. Sky News reported that Epiris was one of several private equity firms getting ready to bid for nine of Capita’s business units. The subsidiaries up for sale include Capita’s travel and [...]
Shipping firm Clarksons swings to £10.5m loss March 9, 2020 Shipbroker Clarksons swung to a £10.5m loss for 2019 after a one off impairment charge relating to buying Norwegian rival RS Platou ASA. Clarksons wrote down the goodwill from the deal by £47.5m which pushed into the red for the year. In 2018, the company had posted a £32.7m profit. “2019 delivered robust underlying financial [...]
