Top bankers from Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan touch down in Davos for Brexit showdown with Prime Minister Theresa May January 19, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has jetted out to Davos for crunch talks with top bankers following a landmark speech this week in which she set out her vision for Brexit. May will meet chief executives from banks such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan a day after two other bosses – HSBC’s Stuart Gulliver and UBS [...]
Sterling retreats from Theresa May’s Brexit speech-inspired highs, boosting the FTSE 100 January 18, 2017 Sterling has fallen back from its strongest one-day performance since 1993, helping to nudge the FTSE 100 back into profitable territory. The sterling spot exchange rate against the US dollar had fallen by more than 1.1 per cent at the time of publication to trade below $1.23. It had traded well above $1.24 after Prime [...]
Inflation hits 1.6 per cent: Experts react to biggest price rise in two years January 17, 2017 Inflation has come in higher than expected as weaker sterling continues to feed through into higher prices for the UK consumer. The 1.6 per cent increase in December surprised analysts. The Bank of England expects inflation to hit 2.7 per cent by the end of this year. It has a legal target rate of two [...]
These analysts are not impressed by M&S’ trading update January 12, 2017 And it looked like things were going so well. Marks and Spencer started off the trading session on a high, jumping five per cent at the open when the retailer beat expectations with its like-for-like clothing sales. But M&S lost its shine as the day wore on, and its share price is now up just 0.8 per cent [...]
Who owns the UK’s railways? Well, not British firms in many cases January 11, 2017 The sale of the C2C rail franchise – labelled by consumer groups as the best network into London – has once again sparked concerns that Britain's railways are being taken over by foreign, often state-owned, firms. National Express' sale of its final franchise in the UK was part of the FTSE 250 firm's strategy to target [...]
Investment banking fees plunged in 2016, but analysts predict 2017 pick-up January 4, 2017 Global investment banking fees fell seven per cent last year, with the UK’s plunging even further, thanks to a decline in flotations, equity raisings and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. However, the decline was less marked in the second half of 2016, and analysts are predicting a recovery this year. Thomson Reuters found global investment banking [...]
UK private equity activity dropped to financial crisis levels this year December 16, 2016 UK private equity activity fell to its lowest level since 2009 this year, a new study out today shows. Across Europe, deal activity is down 38 per cent from €89.7bn (£75bn) in 2015 to €55.7bn. Read more: Vroom vroom: Private equity house announces second acquisition in two days And the decline is even more extreme [...]
Hollywood Bowl reports striking sales but profit is in the gutter after IPO and Bowlplex acquisition December 13, 2016 Hollywood Bowl announced striking growth breaking through the £100m sales mark in its earnings for the year ended 30 September. The figures The UK's largest 10-pin bowling operator reported revenue increased 23.9 per cent to £106.6m this year from £86m last year. Pre-tax profit was down in the gutter by £2.4m this year to £1.2m due to one-off exceptional costs [...]
Inflation rises to its highest in two years as weak sterling takes its toll December 13, 2016 The UK's inflation rate rose to 1.2 per cent in the year to November, up from 0.9 per cent in October – and beating expectations of 1.1 per cent. That puts it at the highest rate since October 2014, when it was 1.3 per cent. The rise was driven by hikes in clothing prices, motor [...]
Another British tech firm has been bought by a foreign company December 12, 2016 Shares in e2v, the British tech firm which supplies imaging sensors that help the Hubble space telescope and the Mars Curiosity Rover take pictures, have jumped almost 50 per cent after agreeing a £620m sale to US-based Teledyne. In the latest example of a US firm being snapped up by a foreign company, the conglomerate [...]