Danone cuts forecasts over coronavirus fears February 26, 2020 French food giant Danone this morning lowered its sales and profit margin forecasts for this year as it warned on the impact of coronavirus. The figures However, Danone’s shares rose per cent this morning after it reported 2019 like-for-like sales growth of 2.6 per cent to €25.38bn Earnings per share growth last year was 8.3 [...]
London Stock Exchange’s $27bn Refinitiv deal under scrutiny in Brussels February 26, 2020 The London Stock Exchange Group’s $27bn purchase of Refinitiv has reportedly already come under intense scrutiny in Brussels, raising the prospect that EU regulators will initiate a much longer investigation into the deal than had been expected. The two companies are yet to formally notify competition regulators of the deal, which would trigger the review [...]
Coronavirus: Guinness owner Diageo warns on £200m profit hit February 26, 2020 Drinks manufacturing giant Diageo has warned it expects to take a profit hit of up to £200m due to the impact of coronavirus, which has seen bars and restaurants close and events cancelled across Asia. Diageo – the owner of Guinness, Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka – this morning said group organic sales could [...]
Taylor Wimpey warns of squeezed profit margin for 2020 February 26, 2020 Flat house prices amid 2019’s prolonged Brexit uncertainty hurt Taylor Wimpey’s profit margin last year, with no recovery expected in 2020, it revealed today. The figures Taylor Wimpey’s profit before tax climbed 3.1 per cent year on year to £835.9m in 2019. But weak house price growth and building costs knocked the firm’s operating profit [...]
Virgin Galactic shares stall as space tourism firm posts $73m loss February 26, 2020 Richard Branson-founded Virgin Galactic fell to a $73m loss in the final quarter of 2019 as the space tourism firm announced it had received twice as many registrations for its space flight programme. The loss, which has widened compared to the same period last year, meant that Virgin Galactic’s share price, which has risen nearly [...]
Upper Crust owner SSP warns over coronavirus profit hit February 26, 2020 Upper Crust owner SSP Group has warned it expects to take a £5m profit hit in February as sales in the Asia Pacific region halved this month due to the impact of coronavirus. SSP, which operates across travel hubs, said falling passenger numbers across the region – which counts for eight per cent of total [...]
The Restaurant Group scraps dividend and eyes 90 site closures February 26, 2020 The Restaurant Group has suspended its dividend as it announced plans to ramp up Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito site closures to focus on its Asian-fusion chain Wagamama. The figures Restaurant Group’s shares dipped 3.1 per cent in early trading as it announced it will scrap its dividend to focus on a new strategic plan. [...]
Heathrow soars to ninth year of growth as third runway decision looms February 26, 2020 Heathrow Airport posted its ninth consecutive year of passenger growth as stakeholders gear up for tomorrow’s judicial review decision on whether the third runway expansion project can go ahead. The transport hub also said that though it was closely monitoring the coronavirus outbreak, it does “not expect [it] to have a material negative impact on [...]
The Democrats face a beating if they choose Bernie Sanders as their presidential nominee February 26, 2020 In December 2019, a peculiar experiment in British politics hit the buffers in a most brutal manner. One of our great political parties — Labour — had gambled that it could swing radically leftwards away from the ideological centre ground. Its expectation was that it would win a sweeping victory with an enhanced coalition of [...]
Citizens assemblies are no solution to the climate challenge — we need innovation February 26, 2020 At first sight, long-term swings in individual seats in Australian elections are a definite niche interest, one for the real trainspotter. But during a visit to Sydney University’s Complex Systems Institute, I noticed a fascinating piece in The Australian newspaper. The Australian Labor Party had a good result in the 2007 federal elections, and a [...]
