Employers prepare to hand 180,000 workers a pay rise as real living wage increases November 5, 2018 Over a third of FTSE 100 companies are set to hand workers a pay rise this week as the real living wage rises to £9 an hour, an increase of 25p on the hourly rate. At least 180,000 staff and sub-contractors will receive the salary boost, which in London will rise by 35p to £10.55 an hour. The [...]
UK banks: What to make of Lloyds, RBS and Barclays? May 29, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Having underperformed since April's stock market peak, here's what to expect from the domestic lenders. With UK banks making heavy weather of Q1 results and the Brexit shackles still in place, there's a clear lack of momentum behind shares of Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY), Barclays (LSE:BARC) and The Royal [...]
Anglo American to restart operations at Minas-Rio mine after fixing leaky pipeline December 21, 2018 Mining company Anglo American has announced that it will resume operations at its Minas-Rio iron ore mine in Brazil after fixing a leaky pipeline that has brought production to a halt. The FTSE 100 company said that it expects to report an underlying loss of $320m (£252.6m) as a result of the interruption, which lies at the lower [...]
Oil prices hit new 14-month low after global selloff December 20, 2018 Oil prices fell to another 14-month low earlier today as markets worried a slowdown in the US economy could hit demand. The Brent crude standard dropped over four per cent to breach the $55 per barrel mark, landing as low as $54.82. Speculators were spooked after international markets fell on the US Federal Reserve’s decision [...]
Costain secures £3.3bn HS2 contract that could create 6,000 jobs April 15, 2020 Engineering firm Costain has won a £3.3bn contract to design and build the tunnels connecting the HS2 railway to London Euston station. This initial phase of the High-Speed Two (HS2) railway project, which controversially got the go-ahead from government in February, will create 6,000 jobs, Costain said. Costain’s share price surged 23 per cent to [...]
Coca-Cola bottler core profits fizz February 14, 2019 A soft drinks bottler led the FTSE 100 market fallers this morning after analysts noted that finance costs had offset strong organic growth, which has been boosted by a rise in appetite for sparkling beverages and a return to growth in its key Russian market. The figures Coca-Cola HBC AG said this morning that profits before [...]
From tech to Trump – here’s what prompted the big market moves of 2018 December 18, 2018 From Brexit to trade wars, nothing has been plain-sailing about 2018. It’s been a year of peaks and troughs across all major markets, so let’s have a look at the big moves of the past 12 months. Tech in turmoil This was the year when the tech giants raced to become the first ever $1 [...]
Office politics: Pandemic sees onshoring trend ramp up June 2, 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating for communities, businesses and economies globally. Over the past 16 weeks, as lockdowns were enforced around the world, consumers retreated to their homes and offices and services closed their doors. The lockdown has presented unique challenges to the customer service industry, much of which has been outsourced overseas over [...]
Gem Diamonds sees revenue jump 41 per cent amid hopes of upturn February 13, 2020 Gem Diamonds saw its revenue increase 41 per cent today after a hike in the price of the precious stones had producers optimistic of a better 2020 for the troubled market. The miner, which has operations in Lesotho, said revenue hit $51.3m (£39.5m), up from $36.3m in the previous quarter. A 21 per cent rise [...]
Melrose share price tumbles following low-ball bids for GKN unit November 26, 2018 Turnaround specialist Melrose led FTSE fallers today as its share price fell over six per cent following reports of disappointing bids for one of its GKN units. Melrose, which bought aerospace company GKN in an £8bn hostile takeover earlier this year, was reportedly forced to reconsider its options after it was low-balled by bids for [...]