RBS boss suits up with workers for 500-mile slog around the UK September 3, 2015 THE NIGHTS are getting longer and the weather less pleasant, but there’s no slowing down for RBS boss Ross McEwan. He’s planning to team up with hundreds of the bank’s staff to cycle 500 miles from London to Edinburgh. RBS, which yesterday announced its partnership with Sport Relief 2016, is getting 750 staffers to cycle [...]
FTSE index quarterly review: Berkeley Group Holdings’ FTSE 100 place confirmed, Weir Group out September 2, 2015 Berkeley Group Holdings will officially join the FTSE 100 later this month with engineering company Weir Group making way. Read more: Housebuilder shares drop on "vanilla" house price data The anticipated reshuffle was confirmed as part of the index's quarterly review which also announced FTSE 250 entrances for Circassia Pharmaceuticals, P2P Global Investments and Sophos Group. [...]
WH Smith IT glitch shares users’ private data in mass emails September 2, 2015 WH Smith has sent users' private data out in mass emails to other customers following an IT glitch. The source of the breach seems to be a poorly constructed contact form on the retailer’s website. When a customer fills out the form, instead of sending the message to the company itself, the information was sent [...]
Halfords share price plummets on poor summer bike sales September 2, 2015 Shares in car and bike maintenance retailer Halfords fell more than 7.7 per cent to 470.6p in early trading, after this summer's soggy weather hit its bicycle sales. The figures Like-for-like sales at the company dropped 1.3 per cent in the eight weeks to the end of August – although for cycling specifically the fall was 11 [...]
Tesco’s share price dips as supermarket selects MBK as preferred bidder for sale of South Korean unit Homeplus September 2, 2015 Tesco has identified private equity firm MBK Partners as the preferred bidder to buy its South Korean arm, Reuters is reporting. The troubled supermarket has been looking to offload Homeplus, which is valued at around $6bn (£3.9bn), as part of a wider attempt to bolster its bottom line. Two months ago it held a beauty parade [...]
Chinese woes take toll on miners as FTSE slumps 3pc – London Report September 2, 2015 THE FTSE 100 yesterday slumped three per cent, its worst one-day fall in over a week, with miners hit hardest after a slump in the manufacturing sector in China – the world’s biggest commodity consumer. The blue chip index closed down 189.40 points, or three per cent, to 6,058.54. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell [...]
FTSE closes three per cent lower as China outlook worsens September 1, 2015 The FTSE 100 closed more than three per cent lower, at 6,058 points, after another day of weak economic data from both China and Europe. Other European markets followed suit, with both the Cac and the Dax finishing 2.4 per cent lower. Meanwhile, US stocks also dropped, with the S&P 500 and the Dow [...]
Lee Rochford stands down as chief financial officer of Virgin Money September 1, 2015 Lee Rochford has resigned from his role as chief financial officer of Virgin Money, the company announced today. Read more: Virgin Money IPO: Jayne-Anne Gadhia to get £1m bonus, but misses a bigger payout on low valuation His permanent replacement has not yet been decided, but Dave Dyer, currently strategy director of the firm, [...]
Investors urged to vote against Mike Ashley and Keith Hellawell at Sports Direct AGM as USC, zero-hour contracts issues rage on September 1, 2015 Sports Direct investors are being advised to vote against both founder Mike Ashley and chairman Keith Hellawell retaining their seats on the board ahead of next week's AGM. Investor group Pirc is recommending six of the 15 resolutions be opposed, and three abstained. Its biggest concern was the large number of staff employed on [...]
Supermarket wars hot up: Poundland launches online shopping trial September 1, 2015 Poundland is dipping a toe in the waters of online retailing, with the bargain chain launching a trial online shopping service today. The discount retailer’s website, will initially offer 2,000 products ranging from Poundland’s £1 Make Up Gallery cosmetics range to Toblerone bars and three-for-£1 cans of Coke. Poundland said the service will have no [...]