Marks & Spencer in talks with top Dixons Carphone exec to bolster retail expertise May 19, 2018 Marks & Spencer is reportedly in talks with a top Dixons Carphone exec as the troubled retailer seeks to shake-up its board. Katie Bickerstaffe, who recently stepped down as chief executive of Dixons Carphone UK and Ireland, has held discussions about joining M&S as a non-exec director. M&S is facing the risk of a landmark [...]
Last Week in the City: England has an 8.5% chance of winning the World Cup May 18, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (14 to 18 May 2018). UBS has used its City analysts’ predictive firepower to try and work out the winner of the upcoming World Cup in Russia – and England came surprisingly high in its league [...]
British Gas owner Centrica buffeted by Beast from the East with busiest week ever for central heating boiler breakdowns May 14, 2018 British Gas owner Centrica said in a trading update today that its services division had been under pressure due to the severe weather earlier this year with a record number of boiler breakdowns to fix. It said that while the unexpectedly cold weather had increased energy demand, the Beast from the East had buffeted its [...]
Npower hikes energy prices for more than one million people May 11, 2018 Big six energy company Npower has announced today that it is boosting prices for over one million customers by 5.3 per cent. The energy giant said that the price rises would add £64 to the average dual fuel annual energy bill. The price hike, which will take effect from 17 June, consists of a 4.4 [...]
Eurozone inflation falls to add to European Central Bank quantitative easing quandary May 3, 2018 The pace of price rises in the Eurozone fell in April to add to the reasons for caution for the European Central Bank (ECB) over withdrawing monetary policy stimulus in the autumn. Consumer price inflation fell to an annual rate of 1.2 per cent, down from 1.3 per cent, in spite of a marked pick-up [...]
nHouse founders Nick Fulford and Richard Hywel Evans on the need for modular housing in the UK May 2, 2018 While we all know what disruptive tech looks like, what does disruptive housing look like? By almost universal consent, three problems need to be addressed in the current market – affordability, sustainability and quality – and whoever conquers all three will seriously shake up the UK market. Yet architect Richard Hywel Evans thinks he, along [...]
Commodity investors: how to hedge your US dollar exposure March 29, 2018 For quite some time now, low interest rates have prompted investors to look for investments with the potential to deliver decent levels of growth. If anything, this desire has intensified in the past year or so as inflation in the UK has picked up. Annual Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) – the measure of price growth [...]
The AA thinks pumped-up petrol prices may have diverted £1bn away from high street spending last year March 24, 2018 Higher petrol prices in 2017 cost drivers £1bn in money that may otherwise have been spent on the high street, according to new research from breakdown cover provider The AA. A rise of nearly 9p per litre in the average price of petrol last year siphoned off a huge chunk of consumers’ spending capacity, The [...]
Last week in the City March 23, 2018 This week, China warned the US that it is not afraid of engaging in a trade war, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates again, and Facebook shares plummeted after allegations that millions of users' profile data had been harvested. The FTSE 100 was down 3.5% over the course of the week by mid-session on Friday. [...]
Rihanna roils markets as China bags a key element March 21, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (March 12 to March 16, 2018). This week, Barbadian singing sensation Rihanna managed to wipe $1bn off the valuation of tech group Snap, the Chinese secured a major cobalt deal to help it produce electric [...]