FTSE 100 riding high as Greek deal fuels Eurozone – London Report June 23, 2015 Britain’s top share index edged higher yesterday, lagging a Greece-fuelled rally in Eurozone shares as weak results from outsourcing company Bunzl dragged on gains. There was also little cheer from the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) monthly industrial trends survey, which showed British factory orders grew this month at their weakest pace in almost two [...]
Analysts warn that Ladbrokes – Gala Coral mega merger odds on for competition issues June 23, 2015 Analysts are warning that Ladbrokes' multi-million pound merger with Gala Coral could have to jump serious competition hurdles. The combined company would command 4000 retail shops – about 45 per cent of the UK market – and give the group much better odds in the online gaming space too. The retail position in [...]
BT Sport and Ericsson team up for new Champions League channels June 23, 2015 BT Sport has selected Ericsson to design, build and run the technology behind a variety of new products, as it ups its game in live sports, having won the Champions Leagues broadcasting rights. Ericsson will work on BT's three new sports channels, BT Sport Europe, BT Sport Showcase, and BT Sport ultra high definition, which [...]
Afren’s share price has mysteriously shot up 82 per cent June 23, 2015 Shares in embattled oil producer Afren closed up 59.33 per cent to 2.39p per share today – however nobody knows why. Earlier today pundits had taken to Twitter in a guessing game after the oil producer's share price mysteriously shot up as much as 90 per cent to 2.78p per share. The jump is particularly surprising [...]
RBS AGM: Lender did not anticipate £10bn of penalties, says Sir Philip Hampton June 23, 2015 RBS’ outgoing chairman said today that the bank did “not anticipate” the £10bn of fines it’s been handed in recent years. At the bank’s annual general meeting today, Sir Philip Hampton, who is due to bow out as its chairman, said the regulatory fines, litigation charges and customer redress were completely unexpected. “The [...]
Neil Woodford’s Patient Capital investment trust slapped with a “sell” rating by broker Stifel June 23, 2015 Neil Woodford's Patient Capital Trust has been slapped with a "sell" rating by broker Stifel Funds, which warned its share price has leapt ahead of its net asset value (NAV), or the trust's underlying value. Stifel analyst Iain Scouller said the trust's share price had jumped by 16 per cent since May, but just 4.3 per [...]
Tesco shareholders encouraged to revolt at AGM over Dave Lewis’ pay, Philip Clarke’s golden goodbye and John Allan’s appointment as chairman June 23, 2015 Tesco shareholders are being encouraged to stage a revolt at the supermarket's AGM on Friday, with investor group Pirc advising they vote against key resolutions. Chief executive Dave Lewis' pay could come under particular scrutiny if Pensions and Investment Research Consultants – one of the largest investor groups in the UK – gets its [...]
Truffle Pig: WPP, Daily Mail and Snapchat just formed an ad agency to create social content June 23, 2015 The world's biggest advertising group, WPP, the world's biggest online publisher, the Daily Mail, and startup sweetheart Snapchat have formed the media equivalent of a musical supergroup to get adverts in front of eyeballs. The trio have launched an ambitious new venture forging together the world of technology, advertising and publishing with the creation of [...]
Lloyds Banking Group share price dips as government slashes its stake June 23, 2015 Shares in Lloyds Banking Group dipped to 86.9p this morning after it emerged the government had cut its stake in the bailed-out bank to less than 17 per cent. This could be among the final tranches of shares sold to institutional investors: chancellor George Osborne has said the government was planning to wrap up its current [...]
Ladbrokes share price jumps 16 per cent on merger talks with Gala Coral June 23, 2015 Shares in Ladbrokes shot up 16 per cent to 141.68p per share this afternoon, after it confirmed reports that it was in merger talks with rival gambling company Gala Coral. Ladbrokes said it was interested in merging its business with Coral Retail, Eurobet Retail, as well as Gala Coral's online businesses. It would give the two [...]