Carpetright cuts profits again as sales wear thin March 26, 2014 CARPETRIGHT issued its third profit warning in less than six months yesterday, saying that the recovery in the housing market has yet to reach its tills and lead to more people refurbishing their homes. The flooring specialist, whose boss Darren Shapland quit after its first October profit warning, said it now expected underlying pre-tax profit [...]
Moss Bros warns couples could put World Cup before weddings March 26, 2014 MOSS Bros’ chief executive Brian Brick yesterday said its wedding business was picking up again after a tough 2013 caused hire sales to fall 6.9 per cent but he warned that this summer’s World Cup could see couples delay tying the knot. “We had two very good years for weddings but last year was tougher [...]
Consumer confidence in Italy approaches a three-year high March 26, 2014 ITALIAN consumer confidence jumped to a near three-year high this month, official data revealed yesterday, providing a boost to new Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Morale on the high street has been sharply improving in many western countries in recent weeks, with strong US surveys sending stocks higher across the pond. And yesterday Italy’s stats office, [...]
Just-Eat opts to be first member of LSE’s High Growth Segment March 26, 2014 The prospectus of takeaway website company Just-Eat has revealed that it plans to join the London Stock Exchange's High Growth Segment. By doing so, it won't have to sell off as much stock to be listed. The High Growth Segment has a lower free float requirement, with a minimum threshold of 10 per cent, as [...]
What you need to know before the open March 26, 2014 The rebound seen in European markets yesterday is expected to continue today, as investors set aside worries over the Ukraine-Russia situation, focusing on some pretty reasonable data from Germany and the US. The upbeat data buoyed Asian shares, which hit two week highs in Wednesday trading. Two further developments yesterday helped give markets a boost. [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 26 March 2014 March 25, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Banks pay out $100bn in US fines Wall Street banks and their foreign rivals have paid out $100bn in US legal settlements since the financial crisis, according to Financial Times research, with more than half of the penalties extracted in the past year. The sum reflects a substantial shift in political attitudes towards [...]
Treasury selling £4.2bn of stock in Lloyds Bank March 25, 2014 LLOYDS is taking another step towards privatisation as the government last night announced it is selling another 7.5 per cent stake in the bank. The 5.35bn shares are worth around £4.2bn at last night’s closing price of 79.1p – firmly above the 73p the government paid for the stock. However, the large placement of shares [...]
Kingfisher returns £200m to shareholders March 25, 2014 KINGFISHER, the owner of DIY chains B&Q and Screwfix, announced plans to hand £200m to shareholders as brighter prospects in the UK helped boost its full-year performance, sending shares up six per cent yesterday. Finance director Karen Witts said it will launch a multi-year programme starting with £200m in this financial year – its first [...]
Pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond appoints PwC as administrator March 25, 2014 ALBEMARLE & Bond called in administrators yesterday, just a day after the struggling pawnbroker said that its lenders no longer supported the management’s turnaround plan. Albemarle’s board said that the decision had been made due to Albemarle’s inability to regain the support of its lenders on Monday – including Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays to [...]
Topps Tiles predicts sales leap after positive start to the year March 25, 2014 TILING specialist Topps Tiles expects to post a near 70 per cent leap in first-half profit after a strong start to the year, in a further sign of improving consumer sentiment. The retailer, which has 330 stores across the country, said it expects to report profits of £8m in the 28 weeks to 29 March [...]