Marks & Spencer leading the FTSE losers: Why clothing boss John Dixon’s departure gives M&S two major headaches July 17, 2015 Marks & Spencer is leading the FTSE 100 losers this morning, after it confirmed its executive director of general merchandise John Dixon had quit. M&S' share price opened down, and has continued to tumble throughout early trading. At pixel time, itwas down 1.3 per cent. When Dixon took up the role in [...]
888 share price bounces as it agrees to buy Bwin.party for £900m July 17, 2015 888 put it all on red, and has now emerged triumphant, having agreed to buy rival Bwin.party for £898.3m. That values Bwin.party at 104.09p per share, a premium of 16.4 per cent to the closing price on 14 May, the original day the offer was made. Since then, shares have risen as high as 108p [...]
British Airways owner International Airlines Group’s takeover of Aer Lingus given clearance for takeoff July 17, 2015 British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) said today it's been given the go-ahead to buy budget Irish airline Aer Lingus, after the company received acceptances from more than half of shareholders. The news brings IAG, which also owns Iberia and Vueling, a step closer to completing its €1.36bn (£951m) deal to take over [...]
Marks & Spencer’s share price tumbles as head of general merchandise John Dixon quits July 17, 2015 Marks & Spencer's head of general merchandise John Dixon has quit the business after three years in the role, prompting the retailer's share price to tumble in early trading. Dixon "has decided to leave the business to pursue career opportunities outside of the company", the retailer said this morning. He will step down from [...]
Fraud and credit checks bolster Experian’s sales July 16, 2015 Data company Experian yesterday posted a five per cent rise in first-quarter revenue in the UK, with particularly strong growth in its anti-fraud services. “We’re making solid progress in the UK and Ireland, with further revenue momentum in the quarter, and good strategic progress as we secured a number of significant client wins by combining [...]
FTSE edges up but can not beat rise in Eurozone – London Report July 16, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index edged higher yesterday, though without matching the gains seen across the Eurozone after Greece’s parliament approved austerity measures, with US-exposed stocks getting a lift. The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6 per cent, at 6,796.45 points, lagging a 1.5 per cent rise for the Euro STOXX 50, with peripheral Eurozone markets [...]
Ofcom communciations review: What next for BT, Openreach, Sky and the telecoms market? July 16, 2015 While Ofcom’s latest move is no doubt being celebrated as a win by BT’s more than vocal rivals, it’s by no means a foregone conclusion that BT is heading for a breakup. Last time Ofcom reviewed competition, BT was forced to create Openreach in order to give access to its broadband network to rivals, something Ofcom [...]
Plus500 shareholders give Playtech takeover the green light July 16, 2015 Plus500 shareholders have given the go-ahead to Playtech's £460m acquisition of the online spreadbetter. Read more: Watchdog must give its blessing to Plus500 deal Israeli online gambling firm Playtech's offer values Plus500 at 400 pence per share, some way below the 750 pence per share trading price the Aim-listed company enjoyed before freezing thousands of investors [...]
Barclays finally comments on Sir Mike Rake’s departure: He’ll be at the company until a new chief exec is in place July 16, 2015 A good 24 hours after the world learned that Sir Mike Rake was leaving Barclays, the bank has finally issued a comment. It seems the news caught the bank off guard – initially a spokesperson told City A.M. no resignation letter had been received and that as far as the business was concerned, he [...]
Sports Direct share price falls despite revenue rising 4.7 per cent July 16, 2015 The figures Shares in Sports Direct fell 0.48 per cent to 731p per share in early morning trade. The company said group revenue rose 4.7 per cent to £2.83bn in the year to April 2015, from £2.71bn in 2014. It was helped by its "sports retail" and "brands" sectors, which rose 5.5 per cent and [...]