Sainsbury’s to double the number of click and collect grocery sites as full-year results loom May 3, 2016 Sainsbury's is doubling the number of click & collect sites in its store car parks over the next 12 months to take the total number to 200. The supermarket chain said its "drive thru" service was proving popular with customers as shopping habits change and plans to launch a further 100 sites by May 2017. “We know that time is precious [...]
Game Digital agrees £100m financing facility with shareholder Duodi’s “associate” Lajedosa April 21, 2016 Struggling computer games retailer Game Digital has agreed a new financing facility to give it breathing room while the business gets back on track. The group has agreed an asset-backed revolving loan facility of up to £100m with Lajedosa Investments, which is described as "an entity associated with Duodi Investments" – the major shareholder of Game, which is [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 shaping up for an impressive week May 25, 2016 We're just over half way through but UK markets seem to have a spring in their step this week as they closed even higher today on the back of "buying frezny". The FTSE 100 popped up another 0.7 per cent to 6,262.85 – the bluechip's highest close since the end of April. Banks once again led the [...]
Swiss probe ends as HSBC pays out £28m June 4, 2015 SWISS prosecutors have dropped their investigation into HSBC’s private bank operations, after the company agreed to pay the authorities in Geneva 40m Swiss francs (£28m) yesterday. The authorities had long been looking into allegations of money laundering at the firm’s Swiss private bank. Earlier this year, Geneva’s public prosecutor searched HSBC’s offices as part of [...]
Berenberg warns investors should be underweight Britain’s big banks, including Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) March 15, 2016 Analysts at Berenberg have said investors should be wary of Britain’s big banks, amid expectations that mortgage profitability will fall below 10 per cent. “We think interest rates will remain at low levels and, as a result, expect mortgage margins to fall by six basis points per year,” Berenberg’s banks team said in a note [...]
Capita: UK dividend payments hit highest point since 2008 as Lloyds and HSBC return to financial health July 19, 2015 Dividends paid out by UK companies have soared to their highest level since 2008, buoyed by banks hiking their payouts and a lower pound. A total of £29.2bn was paid out during the second quarter, shows data collected by Capita Asset Services, the highest second quarter on record. “To say income investors had a bumper [...]
Watch out, big banks: The claims are coming, and here’s the lawyer who’s bringing them August 21, 2016 Before the rigging scandals started to rock the City, most people would have been wholly unfamiliar with the idea of a 4pm fix or the Libor question. Then, in 2012, Barclays’ chief executive Bob Diamond sent shockwaves through the financial centre, as he stepped down from his role. Just days before, the bank had been [...]
UK economists top 100: From George Magnus to Stephen King, these are the most influential financial experts in the UK and Ireland March 30, 2016 Maybe you want to get your head around why British workers aren't producing as much as they should be, quibble about when the Bank of England should start hiking interest rates, or simply stay on top of the steady stream of economic indicators spun out by various agencies. There's a lot of chatter out there [...]
UK banks would face a squeeze on their balance sheets after Brexit May 5, 2016 Profits at the UK’s largest banks would be squeezed if the UK votes to leave the European Union, a top credit ratings agency has said today. Moody’s has warned that Brexit would hit demand for loans, potentially reduce the value of banks’ balance sheets and heap pressure onto London’s fragile investment banking sector. “Uncertainty before [...]
The euro is currently up one per cent on the pound at £0.80 April 1, 2016 The euro is currently up one per cent on the pound. On the pound, the euro stands at £0.80 – higher than it has closed in 2016 after starting the year at around £0.77. Read more: Goldman warns Brexit could slash sterling by 20 per cent Meanwhile, sterling was down nearly 0.7 per cent against the dollar at $1.43 shortly after US jobs data [...]