Micro Focus bosses buy shares after price collapse March 25, 2018 Five Micro Focus board members bought nearly £700,000 worth of shares in the technology company following a steep drop in its share price last week. Stock market filings show that Micro Focus board members bought £694,342 worth of shares in the company on Wednesday and Thursday last week following a dip in its share price. [...]
UK’s biggest firms report record results February 13, 2017 The UK’s largest listed companies weathered a difficult political and trading climate last year, posting upbeat results in the final quarter of 2016. Fourth quarter revenues increased by 5.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis, reaching a record of £116bn for the listed companies. Operating profits grew at their fastest rate in the last three [...]
Shareholder group Pirc hits back at Sports Direct’s “fake news” allegations March 15, 2017 A shareholder advisory group has hit back at Sports Direct after the retailer accused it of pushing out “fake news” figures on high pay ratios. Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) also claimed Sports Direct had sight of the contested figures in 2015 and made “no response on the detail”. Read more: Revealed: The highest and [...]
These are the FTSE companies with the highest and lowest chief executive pay ratios March 15, 2017 With AGM season around the corner, and remuneration set to be a top issue for investors, chief executive pay ratios could again be about to come under the microscope. And while the certain retailers could feel the heat, a number of City firms should be able to rest easy. Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) has drawn [...]
Defined benefit pension funding level fails to improve for FTSE 350 firms April 3, 2016 The deficit carried on defined benefit (DB) pension schemes by FTSE 350 companies has barely budged over the last year, according to figures released late last week. The study by JLT Employee Benefits discovered that, at the end of March 2016, FTSE 350 firms only held assets that covered 86 per cent of the liabilities of [...]
Global stocks fall again: Here’s how nine City analysts reacted February 6, 2018 Shares began their third day of falls this morning, with the FTSE 100 sliding more than two per cent in morning trading after record falls on Asian markets overnight. Here’s how analysts responded this morning. Read more: FTSE 100 follows Asia and Wall Street in third day of global equity rout 1. Fundamentals are still [...]
New targets to have women in 33 per cent of top exec jobs by 2020 unveiled November 8, 2016 New targets has been set for FTSE 100 companies to have at least 33 per cent of their executive pipeline positions filled by women for 2020. The government-commissioned Hampton-Alexander Review has been unveiled with statistics to be released tomorrow showing that 25 per cent of those currently sitting on FTSE 100 exec committees and their direct [...]
IPOh yeah: How newly listed companies outperform the market December 9, 2016 It has been a tough year for London’s flotation market, with the number of big initial public offerings (IPOs) falling significantly on 2015 levels. In addition, there have been a raft of high-profile IPOs pulled by companies, which have cited challenging market conditions. But, according to a new study, the few companies that have completed [...]
How 1.5 per cent of UK businesses created 780,000 jobs last year January 30, 2017 Medium-sized British businesses created 780,000 jobs in 2016 and increased profits by 19 per cent, according to new figures released by accountants BDO in a report into the sector’s growth prospects. The increase was a striking improvement on annual profit growth between 2011 and 2015, which averaged less than one per cent a year while [...]
Fund managers plan executive pay crackdown to avert need for government intervention February 5, 2017 A group of fund manager giants have agreed to club together to combat excessive executive pay. Aberdeen Asset Management, M&G Investments and Standard Life Investments were among 13 firms involved in the recent pact. The agreement came after an 18 January meeting of the Investment Association, which came around the time Blackrock, the world’s biggest fund manager, indicated [...]