The Notebook: Susannah Streeter talks Brits’ love of brands, ready meals and Eurovision May 16, 2023 The notebook is a place for interesting people to say interesting things. Today, it’s the turn of former journalist and now Hargreaves Lansdown’s head of money and markets Susannah Streeter. Our love of big brands helps fuel inflation fires Brand power is the much-lauded virtue of the world’s most successful companies. But this much-admired characteristic is partly [...]
FTSE 100 live: London’s premier index closes the week up after Beazley bump and UK economy growth May 12, 2023 The FTSE 100 has ended a mixed week on the up after a bump for Lloyds of London insurer Beazley this morning and growth in the UK economy. London’s flagship index ended the week with a gain of around 0.63 per cent after ONS figures this morning showed GDP edged 0.1 per cent higher in [...]
JD Sports drafts in new CFO amid shake up May 11, 2023 JD Sports has drafted in financial veteran Dominic Platt as its new chief financial officer, as the group ploughs ahead with its five-year growth strategy Platt is currently chief of finances at BGL Group, one of the UK’s top digital distributors of financial services and owner of Compare the Market, he also sits on the [...]
JD Sports: Why Peter Cowgill’s scandal-stricken exit was only a temporary blip in the brand’s race to the top May 9, 2023 JD Sports has no problem showing rivals how it’s done. This morning the ‘king of trainers’ kicked off its five year growth strategy, with a proposed acquisition of a leading French sports brand Courir, costing the brand a weighty £425m. As share price for JD Sports soared over three per cent this morning, it’s clear [...]
Cyber attacks hit a third of firms and quarter of charities last year, including Royal Mail, WH Smiths and JD Sports April 19, 2023 Nearly a third of businesses and a quarter of charities have said they were the subject of cyber attacks or breaches last year, new data has shown. Figures collected for the Government by polling company Ipsos show a similar proportion of larger and medium-sized companies and high-income charities faced attacks or breaches last year as [...]
FTSE 100 close: Powell interest rate warning drags London index into the red March 7, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was muted today as investors sweat over whether Fed chair Jerome Powell’s warning that US interest rates will stay higher for longer means other central banks will follow suit. The capital’s premier index closed 0.13 per cent lower at 7,919.49 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned [...]
WH Smith hit by cyber attack as hackers gain access to private company data March 2, 2023 WH Smith has been hit by a cyber attack that has resulted in hackers gaining access to private company data. The stationary store and book seller, which has over 600 high street shops in the UK, said it has launched an investigation into the attack. The retailer said however, that customer data was not affected [...]
FTSE 100: London falls from record high as retailers JD Sports, Next and Mike Ashley’s Frasers drag index down February 6, 2023 The FTSE 100 started the week lower on Monday, as retailers dragged the index lower. The capital’s premier index dropped 0.82 per cent to 7,836.71 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, closed at 20,409.38, down 0.89 per cent. The fall takes the [...]
FTSE 100 live: London index pulls away from record high as US dollar strengthens on Fed rate hike bets February 6, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 climbed down from its record high to kick off the week today, dragged lower by big British retailers taking a tumble. The capital’s premier index dropped 0.87 per cent to 7,833.20 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, edged 0.10 [...]
FTSE 100 close: Markets shrug off rate hike as JD Sports and BT lift index February 2, 2023 The FTSE 100 closed higher on Thursday, boosted by a strong performance from BT and JD Sports, as investors digested the latest interest rate decision from the Bank of England later today. Governor Andrew Bailey increased interest rates by 50bps to a post-financial crisis high of four per cent earlier today. Investors think the Bank [...]