Mark Kleinman: Britishvolt or British Steel? A tough political call January 26, 2023 In his weekly column, Mark Kleinman writes on Britishvolt, British Steel, UK Finance and a potential new boost for London's IPO market
FTSE 100 close: Barclays, HSBC and Easyjet shine on otherwise poor day in London January 25, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 today gave up morning gains to finish lower before stronger-than-expected retail earnings provided a balm against recession fears. The capital’s premier index fell 0.22 per cent to 7,740.34 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, slid 0.38 per cent to [...]
Marston’s bucks hospitality trend as historic pub chain reports bumper festive period January 24, 2023 Pub and hotel operator Marston’s has reported bumper sales over the Christmas period as Brits treated a pint as an “affordable treat”. The historic London-listed firm, founded in 1834, said like-for-like sales were up 12.9 per cent on Omicron-affected 2022, for the 16 weeks to 21 January. Marston’s has however experienced difficulties in this time [...]
Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt to shun tax cuts in March budget despite £11bn energy windfall January 23, 2023 Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak will hold fire on tax cuts at the 15 March budget despite being handed an around £11bn windfall from international energy prices falling to pre-Russia-Ukraine war levels, according to top economists’ predictions gathered by City A.M. Brits will have to wait until the run up to the next general election, [...]
FTSE 100 close: Blue chip index ends higher as disappointing retail sales figures fail to dent JD Sports, Frasers and Burberry January 20, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 index closed the week marginally higher, clawing back some some of this year’s earlier gains following a poor performance yesterday. The capital’s premier index climbed 0.3 per cent to 7,770.59 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index rose 0.7 per cent to close at 19,702.63. JD Sports, Frasers and Burberry were [...]
Markets Wrap January 20, 2023 Another eventful week of trading comes to a close, and we end the week quite differently to how we started it. Last week we saw solid upside in stocks with no real fundamental driver, as banks kicked off the Q4 earnings season and the US posted a relatively strong Michigan consumer sentiment figure. The theme [...]
Seraphine sells: Maternity brand worn by celebrities including Kate Middleton and Kate Winslet to be taken private in £15.3m deal January 20, 2023 The board of Purple Bidco, owned by Mayfair Equity, and directors of Seraphine have agreed to buy out the maternity clothing company in a deal which values the celebrity fashion favourite at £15.3m. The offer represents a 206 per cent premium of the firm’s share price, with each share being sold for 30p cash in [...]
Fintech Pensionbee buzzes towards profits after reporting boost in savers January 19, 2023 London-listed fintech PensionBee has doubled down on its prediction of profits this year after reporting a boost in customers and revenues in 2022.
FTSE 100 close: Ocado emerges as top dog in 2023 so far, but index pulls away from record high January 18, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 finished slightly lower today, dragging it further away from its record and signalling traders are looking through signs UK inflation has passed its peak and could be a downward trend this year. The capital’s premier index dropped 0.27 per cent lower to 7,830.71 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which [...]
Burberry: China’s covid restrictions flatten sales as Europeans ramp up luxury item spend January 18, 2023 Heavy Covid restrictions in China weighed down sales for luxury British fashion giant Burberry in the third quarter of last year. In the 13 weeks to December, the UK firm reported £756m in retail revenue in its comparable store sales around the world, a one per cent increase on the previous year. Sales in China [...]