Fawcett Society warns of slipping backwards on gender pay gap progress November 10, 2017 Young women are facing an even bigger pay gap than their predecessors, a leading campaign group has warned. Campaign groups are today marking “Equal Pay Day”, which they say is the day women begin to work for free until the end of the year due to the pay gap between men and women. The date [...]
Fund managers join fight for more female FTSE 350 board members October 12, 2016 Jupiter, Old Mutual and Legal & General are among the fund managers to have made commitments to vote against board appointments at companies which do not have enough female executives. And the 30% Club, which is campaigning for FTSE 350 boards to be 30 per cent made up of women by 2020, has called on more investment companies to follow suit. Read [...]
Why the UK stock market might not be as appealing as it looks February 13, 2018 If the Brexit negotiations last year seemed tense, they are likely to pale in comparison to the upcoming discussions regarding the terms of the new trading relationship between the UK and Europe. UK politicians are not in agreement about what they are trying to negotiate and what, if anything, would replace the EU Single Market [...]
FTSE 350 pension deficits increase by £50bn during August September 5, 2016 Lower for longer interest rates led to pensions deficits ballooning to new highs at the end of August according to data released today. The aggregate pension deficits FTSE 350 companies now stand at £189bn, up from £139bn at the end of July. "The seemingly relentless march in pension scheme deficit increases continues," said Le Roy van Zyl of pension specialists Mercer [...]
Global stock markets and sterling slide as economic slowdown fears continue into new year January 2, 2019 Global markets have started the year in the red as investors struggle to shake off the economic slowdown fears that plagued stocks last year, while the pound has taken a more than one per cent hit against the dollar on the first day of 2019 trading. The FTSE 100 was down more than one per [...]
FTSE 350 directors sell £10m of shares on Brexit bounce August 15, 2016 The bosses of the UK's largest listed firms may be losing confidence in the post-Brexit stock market rally, according to fresh data on insider dealing. Directors at FTSE 350 firms sold £10.5m worth of shares in their own companies in the final days of July and first weeks of August, according to financial data firm Olivetree – [...]
Investing in culture boosts operating profits at FTSE 350 firms June 8, 2016 Over half (55 per cent) of FTSE 350 companies saw their operating profits jump 10 per cent or more after investing in their organisations's culture. In a survey by EY of 100 board members from FTSE 350 companies, 86 per cent respondents said that culture was fundamental to their company’s overall performance and strategy and 92 per cent said that investing in culture had improved [...]
Dividend payments outpace profits at FTSE 350 firms for the first time since the recession July 4, 2016 The UK’s top firms paid out more in dividends last year than they made in profits for the first time since the recession, as they ate into reserves, balances sheets and future earnings to protect payouts to shareholders. Despite profits at the 350 biggest UK-listed firms tumbling by more than half to £76.2bn in 2015, [...]
Budget 2017: Chancellor Philip Hammond delivers boost to FTSE March 8, 2017 Philip Hammond's Budget announcements drove the FTSE 100 into positive territory for the day this afternoon. While no individual companies or sectors appeared to rise or fall too strongly, the FTSE 250 and FTSE 350 indices also edged up after the chancellor spoke. Read more: This is what the Budget had to say about UK [...]
Trade war threatens £265bn blow to global economy as backlash against Trump’s protectionism grows July 2, 2018 An escalation in the brewing trade war among the world’s biggest economies threatens to deliver a £265bn blow to the global economy next year, new forecasts show, as the backlash grows against US President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies. The powerful US Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest lobby group with more than 3m members, has [...]