City remains in dark on HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver’s travel plans November 5, 2015 Should I stay or should I should I go? Not the song by The Clash, but the question on HSBC directors’ minds since the bank kicked off its review of whether it ought to move its headquarters. If the exercise was calculated to extract concessions from ministers for Europe’s biggest lender, it has been adroitly handled: [...]
Mining giants bounce back to push up FTSE 100 – London Report November 5, 2015 The FTSE 100 ended yesterday’s session slightly higher, boosted by gains in mining companies and Marks and Spencer. The UK’s blue-chip index ended the day 0.46 per cent up at 6,412 points. The day’s biggest riser was Glencore, the embattled mining giant, which has been struggling to reassure investors worried about the size of its [...]
Marks & Spencer dividend can’t hide fashion disaster as Next and Primark steal market share November 5, 2015 It's that time of year again. The nights are drawing in, the heating’s turned up, minor celebrities are switching on high street Christmas lights… and Marks & Spencer has revealed another disappointing half-year performance. Admittedly, shares rose yesterday – up 2.8 per cent – but this was more due to a modest improvement to margins and a [...]
At the close: Mining companies Glencore, Anglo American and BHP Billiton take FTSE 100 higher November 4, 2015 The FTSE 100 ended Wednesday's session slightly higher, led by gains in mining companies. The UK's top blue chip index ended the day 0.46 per cent up at 6,412 points. The day's biggest riser was Glencore, the embattled mining giant, which has been struggling to reassure investors worried about the size of its debt pile. It today announced a [...]
Happy hour for Fever-Tree as tonic maker hikes full-year guidance November 4, 2015 Fever-Tree shares have rallied more than 13 per cent after the posh tonic water manufacturer raised its full-year guidance on the back of strong sales. The UK-based brand, which floated on Aim last year, said it anticipates results for the full-year to be “materially ahead” of expectations following “encouraging” sales both at home and overseas. [...]
FTSE 100 index opens up led by Glencore, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Marks and Spencer November 4, 2015 The FTSE 100 opened marginally up this morning, led higher by mining companies, as Glencore reported it was reducing the size of its net debt. The UK's top blue chip index was up 0.44 per cent at 6,411 points. Glencore, the mining giant, which has been struggling to reassure investors worried about the size of [...]
Marks & Spencer’s share price climbs as retailer increases dividend despite clothing sales declining again November 4, 2015 Struggling high street giant Marks & Spencer has recorded yet another period of declines in its general merchandise division – but has handed shareholders an incentive to stick with it in the form of a dividend hike. The figures Top line figures suggest there is a slight improvement in performance, with group sales up 1.4 [...]
Christmas adverts: John Lewis, Sainsburys, Burberry & Marks and Spencer beaten by Universal for most shared festive ad of all time November 2, 2015 It's that time of year already. John Lewis is poised to unveil its Christmas advert on Friday (8am if you're really keen) and once again will be launching in on social media first, followed by a grand pushing out to TV audiences at the weekend. It has become an iconic start to the festive period, [...]
Bank’s super Thursday could cause fireworks – London Report November 1, 2015 HSBC was this morning the latest UK bank to report results, with Standard Chartered rounding off third quarter earnings season tomorrow. There are concerns the emerging market focused Standard Chartered will have taken a hit over the past three months due to the slowing economy in China and fears surrounding emerging market growth. The bank’s [...]
British Gas customer login data leaked in third personal data incident in a week after TalkTalk cyber attack and Marks & Spencer technical glitch October 29, 2015 The account details of as many as 2,000 customers of British Gas have been leaked online, in the third high-profile personal data leak in less than a week. Email addresses and passwords to login to British Gas accounts were posted on the text upload website Pastebin, but the company believes the information leak was not as a result of [...]