Morrisons directors quit in corporate governance row March 26, 2020 Two Morrisons non executive directors have quit, reportedly due to a disagreement over corporate governance at the supermarket. Neil Davidson, chair of the corporate compliance and responsibility committee, and Tony van Kralingen, remuneration committee chair, have stepped down and will cease to be directors from 26 and 29 April respectively. The grocer said today that [...]
Oil prices stage brief rise thanks to Fed coronavirus action March 24, 2020 Oil prices rallied today after a torrid day yesterday. Brent crude was up to almost $28 a barrel and WTI crude futures is at $23, a four per cent rise on yesterday. This has been attributed to pledge from the Federal Banking Reserve to dramatically increase support for US business, although the US Senate could [...]
Silver linings: Positive investment trends for stock market optimists March 24, 2020 Stocks investors are likely to be feeling battered and bruised at the moment. The coronavirus-induced bear market has seen share prices fall sharply — even the UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index is down more than 30 per cent since the start of the year. Many industries are facing hurdles due to the government’s self-isolation guidelines, [...]
Oil prices wallow near 20-year lows amid coronavirus price war March 23, 2020 Oil prices came close to hitting 20-year lows today, as Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped under the growing coronavirus economic panic. Brent crude fell as low as $25 a barrel before falling 2.2 per cent down at $26.40. That is still a level not seen since 2003. WTI, a US oil benchmark, [...]
Shell and Total slash costs and suspend buybacks amid oil price slump March 23, 2020 Oil giants Shell and Total have suspended their share buyback programmes and announced billions of dollars of cost cutting as they try to weather the recent crash in oil prices. The price of Brent crude slumped to a 17-year low last week as the coronavirus pandemic has cut global demand for oil and a price [...]
Morrisons cuts fuel prices as oil prices dip lower March 23, 2020 Supermarket Morrisons has announced a reduction in forecourt fuel prices. Effective from today, unleaded and diesel will be reduced by 12 and 8p a litre respectively. Morrisons said this will save the average customer £6 on unleaded and £4 on diesel. Although prices vary locally, Morrisons currently charges 116p a litre for unleaded and 118.5p [...]
Coronavirus: Marks & Spencer warns on profit as it considers store closures March 20, 2020 Marks & Spencer issued a coronavirus-related profit warning today and alerted investors it may close stores temporarily amid the UK’s Covid-19 outbreak. Its clothing and home divisions have suffered a big hit already from the UK coronavirus crisis, Marks & Spencer warned. As a result profit could fall below expectations of £440m to £460m. “The [...]
Coronavirus panic wipes out FTSE 100 stimulus gains as European stocks sink March 18, 2020 Panicked investors this morning more than wiped out the gains the FTSE 100 made yesterday, as traders shrug off massive stimulus packages from governments and keep selling risk assets over fears of a coronavirus-induced recession. The FTSE 100 was last down 4.8 per cent, having shed 252 points to stand at 5,042 points. Read more: [...]
Morrisons defers dividend over coronavirus as profit rises March 18, 2020 Morrisons has announced its fourth consecutive year of profit growth, but will defer its dividend as it deals with the “unprecedented challenges” brought on by the coronavirus outbreak. Pre-tax profit rose three per cent to £408m, while sales were down 1.1 per cent to £17.5bn. Despite an increase in sales and profit growth for the [...]
Coronavirus: Morrisons ramps up delivery service to cope with demand March 17, 2020 Morrisons has launched a range of measures to help customers and employees during the coronavirus pandemic, including ramping up delivery options and a hardship fund for workers. The grocer has expanded its home delivery service including extra slots, a new range of “simple to order food parcels” and a phone ordering option for those without [...]