Barratt Developments: A cheap income play too good to miss? July 15, 2019 There’s lots to like about housebuilders, but all may not be what it seems, writes our head of markets. Until recently, the housebuilders had been directly in the firing line given Brexit uncertainty. This position has changed of late as the sector generally continues to make hay while the sun shines. The backdrop has been [...]
UK firms cut more than 106,000 jobs amid coronavirus pandemic August 19, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has battered the UK economy since it arrived in early 2020 – and no sector has remained unscathed, with more than 100,000 job cuts planned during the pandemic. The government’s furlough scheme has allowed millions of people to keep getting a paycheck, but fears are growing that when this is phased out [...]
Rolls-Royce offloads one-third of its pension scheme to Legal & General in landmark £4.6bn deal June 6, 2019 Rolls-Royce has handed over responsibility for £4.6bn of its pension scheme to Legal & General, in a record-breaking deal. The FTSE 100 engine manufacturer has offloaded responsibility for paying the pensions of its 33,000 pensions scheme members. The scheme has a total of 76,000 members. Read more: Rolls-Royce among firms kicked off government’s late payment [...]
Why Ocado shares have been chased sharply higher July 9, 2019 A costly warehouse fire hasn’t dented enthusiasm for the shares. Our head of markets explains. Ocado (LSE:OCDO) transformation from online retailer to cutting-edge technology provider remains clear for all to see. The Andover fire in February was an unwelcome distraction and has come at a cost both in actual terms as well as in lost [...]
Coronavirus: ITV shares fall as travel firms pull advertising March 5, 2020 Coronavirus has hurt 2020 demand for ITV advertising as travel operators stopped booking ads with the broadcaster, but it has posted better than expected earnings for 2019. MGM and Universal’s decision yesterday to delay the release of the next James Bond movie, No Time To Die, from April to November due to the coronavirus outbreak, [...]
M&S braced for fresh decline in profits as store closures continue May 19, 2019 Marks & Spencer is set to report a sharp decline in profits for the full year as it looks to beef up its online offering amid a raft of store closures. The high street stalwart is expected to post pre-tax profits of roughly £520m in its full-year results of Wednesday, a fall of 10 per cent on [...]
Cairn Energy sells Senegal stakes to Lukoil for $400m July 27, 2020 Oil explorer Cairn Energy has sold its entire stake in a number of oil fields off the coast of Senegal to Russian firm Lukoil for $400m (£310m). The firm said it would return “at least” $250m to shareholders as part of a special dividend. Shares in the FTSE 250 firm shot up 7.4 per cent [...]
Bulls take back control of global stock markets as FTSE 100 and European markets follow Asian and US lead upwards February 7, 2018 Bullish sentiment once again took the upper hand on global stock markets this morning after gains on US indices ended a run of big losses. The FTSE 100 gained by more than 0.6 per cent at the market open, after yesterday sustaining its worst loss since the day after the Brexit vote. Markets on the [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown assets falls six per cent on market volatility and weak investor confidence January 29, 2019 Hargreaves Lansdown suffered a 24 per cent drop in new business in the second half of last year, blaming market volatility and weak investor confidence for the downturn. The investment platform said net new business in the six months ending 31 December fell 24 per cent on the previous year to £2.53bn, sending shares down [...]
DCC shares up on double-digit growth and £90m spending spree May 14, 2019 Irish multinational DCC today announced another £90m in new acquisitions as it revealed that strong growth in its natural gas segment helped push up profits. The FTSE 100 company sold 10.8 per cent more liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to 2.1m tonnes in the financial year ending March, helping to push revenue up by 30.5 per [...]