New chief takes the wheel at bus provider First Group as losses increase November 13, 2018 Rail and bus provider First Group has named Matthew Gregory as its new chief executive, as losses before tax increased to £4.6m. The former finance chief and interim chief operating officer steps into the job six months after boss Tim O’Toole left the company when it posted a £327m loss for the financial year. Shares grew nine [...]
New homes: Our pick of what’s going on sale in London this week November 12, 2018 New developments on the market this week Aviator Place, Acton From £150,000 for a 40 per cent share of a one bedroom apartment Get onto the property ladder a share at a time by purchasing one of these Shared Ownership homes going on sale in west London tomorrow. Acton is an up-and-coming part of Zone [...]
Hold wants you to put down your phone and reward you – this is how marketing can be more mindful of our health November 12, 2018 There's a famous quote by graffiti artist Banksy from 2004 about advertising that’s too long to post here, but in summary accuses “The Advertisers” of butting into consumers’ lives with ads that “leer at you from tall buildings, and make you feel small”. An oversimplification, of course, and perhaps a glib way to start a [...]
Johnston Press shares rocket following reports the Daily Mail might buy the i newspaper November 12, 2018 Shares in struggling newspaper publisher Johnston Press soared by more than 20 per cent this morning following reports that the Daily Mail’s parent company was preparing to snap up its national flagship the i newspaper. Johnston Press, which owns The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post as well as smaller regional titles across the UK, put itself [...]
SSE expected to announce profit drop as Npower merger hits snag November 11, 2018 Big Six energy company SSE is expected to announce a 43 per cent drop in profit for the first half of the year in its results on Wednesday. On Thursday SSE said the anticipated merger of SSE Energy Services with Npower would be delayed beyond the first quarter of 2019 in order to renegotiate commercial [...]
Hedge fund Marshall Wace to expand Dublin operation in Brexit contingency plan November 10, 2018 Marshall Wace has become the latest investment group to begin putting its post-Brexit contingency plans into action, despite chairman Paul Marshall being a Brexit supporter. The $35bn manager has received licenses to run management companies in Ireland and plans to increase its presence in Dublin as a protective measure ahead of the UK leaving the EU. Marshall [...]
Steel producer Thyssenkrupp shares hit by second profit warning since July November 9, 2018 German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp’s share price tumbled more than 10 per cent this morning after the steel producer issued its second profit warning since July. Blighted by quality issues at its automotive units and a steel cartel investigation, the Essen-based group said it now expected full-year operating earnings of €1.6bn (£1.39bn), compared with €1.72bn last year. [...]
UK will grow as slowly as Italy next year, predicts EU November 8, 2018 UK growth could drop to just 1.2 per cent next year, making it the slowest-growing EU member alongside Italy, the European Commission has predicted. The commission's forecasts for1.2 per cent GDP growth in the UK over the next two years differ from the Office for Budget Responsibility's prediction of 1.6 per cent growth next year [...]
Barnardo’s loses pension scheme appeal in Supreme Court November 7, 2018 The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that children's charity Barnado's can not change the index it uses to protect pensions from inflation. In a unanimous verdict judges ruled the charity may not switch the measure of inflation used on its pension scheme from the retail prices index (RPI) to the consumer prices index (CPI). The move to [...]
Royal Mail shakes up management after series of setbacks as senior executive departs November 7, 2018 One of Royal Mail's top executives has agreed to step down from her role as the postal service shakes up its senior management following a series of knocks to its share price. Sue Whalley, head of the UK post and parcels division, will depart in March next year, and has left the board with immediate [...]