The best Twitter reactions to Donald Trump’s press conference February 17, 2017 Donald Trump held a press conference last night – and nobody really knows what happened. The US President dismissed concerns over connections between the White House and Russia, and launched another attack on the media. The President fired his national security officer, Mike Flynn, earlier this week after it emerged that Flynn had lied to vice [...]
Shares in the leading Coca-Cola bottling firm are fizzing as profit shoots up February 16, 2017 Leading drinks bottler Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) today reached the top spot on the FTSE 100 risers' board as it announced its profit beat expectations yet again. The figures The soft drinks bottler's net profit jumped 22.5 per cent to €343.5m (£292.3m) from €280.3m for the year ended 31 December 2016. Net sales revenue lifted three per cent [...]
Nestle misses long-term annual organic growth target for fourth year on the trot February 16, 2017 The KitKat, Smarties and Nespresso maker has announced another year of slowing growth in a tough environment and has slashed its sales growth target as a result. The news has left a bit of a bad taste in investors' mouths – shares edged down 1.37 per cent in early trading. The figures Nestle is aiming for sales [...]
Heineken forecasts margin growth ahead of its Punch Taverns takeover February 15, 2017 Heineken, the Dutch brewing giant who is buying British pub chain Punch Taverns, today said it's expanded its margins despite challenging economic conditions. The figures Net profit fell 18.6 per cent to €1.54bn (£1.31bn), while operating profit increased by 9.9 per cent to €3.54bn excluding currency movement and one-offs. Sales in Heineken's premium segment increased 3.7 per cent, and [...]
Artificial Intelligence to reveal the biggest secret in oil February 15, 2017 The EIA is, and will continue to be, the gold standard for reporting U.S. oil inventories, and the administration’s weekly reports have the power to immediately swing crude oil prices depending on builds or draws in oil stocks. But while the U.S. is a transparently reporting country, other nations are not revealing oil stocks data, [...]
As his national security adviser resigns over ties to Russia, is Trump’s administration malevolent or just incompetent? February 15, 2017 Dr Joe Devanny, research fellow at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, says Incompetent. Donald Trump has been President of the United States for less than 30 days. We can already say that competence has been in short supply, even by the historical standards of transition processes, which are rarely glitch-free. We have just seen [...]
Russia’s Aeroflot trumps American heavyweights as the world’s most powerful airline brand February 14, 2017 Forget Emirates, American Airlines and British Airways. When it comes to the world's most powerful airline brand, another name has taken the crown. According to Brand Finance, which recently announced its annual Global 500 list featuring Lego, Google and co., Russian carrier Aeroflot is the world's most powerful airline brand. It carries an AAA brand rating [...]
Tui losses narrow as it offloads Travelopia to private equity firm KKR for £325m February 14, 2017 Travel firm Tui has agreed to sell its specialist holiday arm Travelopia to private equity firm KKR for an enterprise value of 381m euros (£325m). It announced the sale ahead of its first-quarter results today, where UK holidaymakers' search for sun bolstered bookings, despite weakened demand for Turkey and Egypt after terror attacks and political uncertainty. Tui shares [...]
Want a more equal society? Be careful what you wish for February 14, 2017 Consider this thought experiment. You have been transported back to 1912 and have the power to change the course of history. You foresee a century ravaged by the effects of two catastrophic World Wars, with a resulting 100m casualties. You also know the effects of violent communist revolution and rule, with a death toll almost [...]
Glencore in $960m deal with Fleurette for copper and cobalt in Democratic Republic of Congo February 13, 2017 Commodities company Glencore has bought up the remaining stake in Fleurette's Mutanda mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has increased its stake in Katanga Mining Limited for a total $960m (£766m). The assets are key sites for the production of copper and cobalt, two commodities which are performing particularly strongly due to the global demand for electricals. [...]