Sandwich seller plans for £2bn summer float February 23, 2014 UPPER Crust owner SSP is gearing up for a summertime stock market float after appointing bankers from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to prepare the firm for a listing. The business, led by former WH Smith chief executive Kate Swann, is understood to be on course for an initial public offering (IPO) to sell shares [...]
Metro Bank: First London – next, the rest of the UK February 23, 2014 Metro Bank’s chairman and founder tells Tim Wallace he wants to take the Southern-focused lender out to a national audience IT HAS shaken up London’s retail banking scene, with bright new branches on busy high streets, and a bold American-style service ethos. But although Metro Bank startled the market as Britain’s first lender in more [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: Fed chair Yellen in spotlight for banking speech February 23, 2014 AFTER the S&P 500 slipped on Friday and broke a two-week rally, stocks may find tougher sledding this week as investors may be unwilling to push the benchmark index to a record high. The Standard & Poor’s 500 has risen three per cent over the past three weeks, as investors have largely been willing to [...]
The week in brief February 23, 2014 Coca-Cola to reinvest $1bn in marketing after fall in sales The soft drinks company – one of many struggling to deal with declining demand – plans to make an extra $1bn (£600m) in productivity savings by 2016, most of which will then be reinvested back into marketing. Earlier this month, it announced a drop in [...]
Retail sales fall more than expected in January February 21, 2014 UK retail sales weren’t as good as expected in January. Month-on-month, they fell 1.5 per cent, after December’s particularly strong 2.5 per cent rise on the back of bumper Christmas shopping. Analysts had expected a fall of one per cent in January. The decline's the biggest since April 2012. But the underlying trend in retail [...]
What you need to know before the open February 21, 2014 With UK retail sales out this morning, European markets are expected higher. Stocks were seen rallying in premarket trading, tracking US counterparts. Along with Asian stocks, they responded well to better-than-expected US manufacturing data, contrasting to the previous day’s weak results for China. This morning, Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych said a deal, which will be [...]
Asda hurt by first sales drop in three years February 20, 2014 ASDA chief executive Andy Clarke yesterday admitted it had been a “tough year” after the supermarket chain reported its first fall in sales for three years. The Walmart owned chain said like-for-like sales fell 0.1 per cent in the 13 weeks to 3 January, compared to the same period a year ago, marking its first [...]
Shell offloads Italian retail unit to Kuwait February 20, 2014 FTSE 100 oil major Dutch Shell yesterday said it will sell its Italian retail, logistics and aviation businesses to Kuwait Petroleum International. Under the agreement, Shell’s retail network of over 830 service stations in the country will be rebranded to Q8. No value was disclosed for the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and [...]
Petra Diamonds chief predicts buoyant demand from China February 20, 2014 THE CHIEF executive of Petra Diamonds yesterday shrugged off concerns of a growth slowdown in China to predict increased demand for diamonds from the world’s second largest economy, as the FTSE 250-quoted miner unveiled solid first-half results. “Growth is being redirected from high levels of infrastructure spend to a consumer-type economy,” Johan Dippenaar told City [...]
Flybe to raise £150m to fuel its turnaround February 20, 2014 FLYBE is tapping investors for £150m to help fund its recovery plan under new chief executive Saad Hammad. The regional airline said the share issue – worth nearly twice the firm’s market value – will fund plane purchases to keep its rental costs down and allow the firm to revamp its routes. Flybe has been [...]