The most rock ‘n’ roll deal of 2017: Future agrees deal to buy, and rescue, music magazines January 9, 2017 Media company Future has agreed a deal to buy, and rescue, a group of rock magazines. Future’s share price dropped by two per cent Monday morning after it announced the deal for Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog, Blues and Golden Gods. The publisher sold the titles for £10.2m in 2013 to Team Rock, which went into [...]
Aldi bags record Christmas sales after a year of store openings January 9, 2017 Aldi boosted its Christmas sales in 2016 after a bumper year of store openings. The discount supermarket opened seventy new stores throughout the year, leading it to 15 per cent year-on-year sales growth in December – its highest growth since landing in the UK in 1990. Aldi did not disclose its like-for-like sales growth for the [...]
Weak sterling pushes FTSE 100 to open at yet another record January 9, 2017 The FTSE 100 has opened at a record high, building on last week’s string of positive performances, with sterling weakness providing a Monday boost. London's blue chip index rose as far as 7,239.26 points, its highest point ever, after ending last week at 7,210.05 points. Sterling fell as low as €1.1542 against the euro at the [...]
Bovis Homes’ chief executive is stepping down January 9, 2017 Housebuilder Bovis Homes said today that its chief executive, David Ritchie, will step down with immediate effect. Shares rose 1.3 per cent as the market opened, to 821.5p. Ritchie joined the company 18 years ago, and has been chief executive for eight years. At the end of last month shares in the company fell as it admitted profits [...]
Christmas celebrations boost overall consumer spending for December January 9, 2017 Visa cardholders spent more in the final quarter of 2016 than they had for two years, according to Visa’s UK Consumer Spending Index, pointing toward a solid increase in household spending. The monthly report showed that consumer spending in December was up 2.6 per cent on the year in December with online purchases leading the [...]
Why unleashing competition would deliver lower fares and greater choice to rail passengers January 9, 2017 The UK’s rail passengers are suffering, and will no doubt continue to do so over the coming months. Union action is bringing the network to a standstill, with further strikes planned for this week. The level of sickness leave among train staff has also been mysteriously increasing, and has doubled compared to pre-strike levels, according [...]
Office life hits workers in their wallets with an annual average bill of £1,000 January 9, 2017 Office workers spend more than £1,000 a year on items including birthdays, figures from Nationwide Current Accounts show. Nationwide polled 2,000 office workers on the cost of after work drinks, charity donations, birthday presents, coffees and more. Clothes and bags generated the greatest average bill with £120, while drinks cost of £102. Other costs included contributions [...]
Online retailers including Asos and Boohoo set to be the winners of the festive season January 8, 2017 Retailers with a strong online offering are set to be some of the biggest winners of the festive season's trading, with analysts pencilling in sales jumps for Asos and Boohoo of 30 per cent and 46 per cent respectively. The City had been fearful that the festive period was a bloodbath for retailers after Next [...]
Solid fare expected from the UK’s listed supermarkets this week, including Tesco and Morrison’s, as a raft of retailers reveal their seasonal sales results January 8, 2017 The UK's three major listed supermarkets are expected to report solid Christmas trading this week, although investor focus will be on the outlook given this year's expected squeeze on consumer spending. On 10 January, Morrison's is expected to report underlying sales growth of 1.1 per cent for the nine weeks to 1 January according to [...]
FTSE 100 closes above 7,200 for first time ever to end first week of 2017 on a high January 6, 2017 The FTSE 100 ended the first week of January on a high as it closed above 7,200 points for the first time ever, driven by healthy US jobs data and strong performances in the defence sector. London’s blue chip index has posted consecutive record closes since 22 December, and built on its winning streak on [...]