Tesco Bank lets students keep their cash after an ATM glitch saw people getting double their withdrawals January 6, 2016 Before the Christmas break and while last-minute present buying was well under way, students in Manchester were blessed by a malfunction from Tesco’s banking arm. An ATM in a residential area of the city began dishing out double the money that was requested for withdrawal. Hundreds of students queued for hours to grab cash from the generous [...]
FTSE 100 index closes down as concerns over China cause mining stocks to fall January 6, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed down today, dragged lower by mining stocks as concerns over China continued. The index closed 1.04 per cent down at 6,073 points, despite strong gains made by BAE Systems. "BAE topped the FTSE 100, as investors sought out defence stocks after North Korea’s nuclear weapon test," said Jasper Lawler, an analyst at [...]
Appy Christmas: $1.1bn sales record breaker for Apple’s App Store January 6, 2016 Apple is celebrating a record-breaking Christmas after people spent $1.1bn (£753m) through the App Store over the festive season. $140m was spent on New Year's Day alone, Apple's biggest single day of sales after Christmas day. That includes apps themselves, in-app purchases (think buying lives on Candy Crush), across iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watch and Apple [...]
FTSE 100 index trades lower on miners despite gains in Royal Mail’s share price, BAE Systems and Sainsbury’s January 6, 2016 The FTSE 100 index was trading lower in early afternoon trading as miners became lighter after gains made yesterday. The UK's blue-chip index fell 1.58 per cent to 6,040 points, despite a strong jump by Royal Mail. Royal Mail's share price rose 1.14 per cent to 442.2p, the day after its stock was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" by Cantor Fitzgerald, [...]
Prime Minister’s Questions: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pushes David Cameron on cancellation of flood protection schemes January 6, 2016 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pushed Prime Minister David Cameron on the cancellation, delay and cuts to a number of flood defences that left communities devastated over Christmas when storms hit. Corbyn said a £190m flood defence scheme was cancelled in 2011 in Leeds, a city that was subsequently flooded, and that spending on flood defences in Cumbria was also [...]
Solid John Lewis Christmas trading not enough to nudge profit expectations up January 6, 2016 The John Lewis Partnership has reported a solid Christmas period, with sales across the group up 4.1 per cent for the six weeks to 2 January to £1.81bn – but it's not enough to shift the group's full year decline in profits. The figures The department store business was the strongest driver of growth, with sales up [...]
Sainsbury’s should focus on its core offer January 6, 2016 Sainsbury's and Home Retail Group do not at first glance appear obvious bedfellows. If perceptions count for anything, and they do in retail, then Sainsbury’s is very much a supermarket that attempts to cater for the British middle class. Home Retail Group’s Argos doesn’t. But for both the high street and supermarkets, these are desperate [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index closes up on miners despite losses in Next and Sainsbury’s January 5, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed up today, outperforming other European markets, as miners made gains. The index closed 0.72 per cent up at 6,137 points, despite losses in Next, Sainsbury's and stocks in companies with exposure to China. Miners ended the day higher, with Glencore leading the pack and Anglo American and Rio Tinto not far behind, after [...]
Retail therapy: British supermarket giant Sainsbury’s considers second bid for Argos owner Home Retail Group January 5, 2016 Sainsbury's is mulling over a second bid for Home Retail Group after it came clean yesterday about a £1bn unsolicited offer for the Argos and Homebase owner. The supermarket chain said it is “considering its position” after its initial cash and share bid in November was rejected by Home Retail’s board. Home Retail was also reportedly [...]
Hipsters and Mindfulness: Ladybird books prove a hit for bookseller Foyles January 5, 2016 Publisher Ladybird's series of spoof guides helping adults to make sense of modern day themes from hipsters to hangovers have proved a hit for bookseller Foyles this Christmas. The family-owned retailer said like-for-like sales jumped by 4.7 per cent for the month of December with seven of Ladybird's for grown up series making it into the [...]