Three charts showing the challenges facing new Tesco boss Dave Lewis September 1, 2014 New Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis starts his job today, a month earlier than originally anticipated. The supermarket is clearly desperate: on Friday it issued a profit warning saying it expected full-year profits to hit £2.4bn, rather than the £2.8bn expected. The company has been battling against the increasing might of discounters Aldi and Lidl, [...]
Rouble falls again as Nato accuses Russia of a “blatant violation” of Ukraine’s sovereignty August 30, 2014 The rouble continued to drop today as tensions in Ukraine continued. The currency fell 0.98 per cent against the euro and as much as 0.4 per cent against the dollar, a record intraday low, as Moscow's equities index, the Micex, fell 1.62 per cent. The losses came as Nato accused Russia of a "blatant violation" [...]
Average bonuses rise 4.9 per cent as bank and insurance bonuses hit their highest since 2008 August 29, 2014 Bonus payments in the UK rose to £40.5bn in the year to April, up almost five per cent on a year ago. In the finance and insurance sector, payments hit £15bn – their highest level since the peak of the financial crisis, in 2008. Changes to taxes in the 2012/13 financial year meant many businesses [...]
Eurozone inflation falls to five-year low as unemployment stays flat at 11.5 per cent August 29, 2014 Consumer price inflation in the eurozone dropped to 0.3 per cent in August, its lowest level since October 2009, as unemployment remained stubbornly flat at 11.5 per cent, official figures published this morning showed. Although the figures were underwhelming, they met analyst expectations. The drop in inflation was largely driven by energy prices, which fell [...]
Malaysia Airlines to slash 6,000 jobs August 29, 2014 Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the state-owned Malaysian investor buying out embattled carrier Malaysia Airlines, has announced plans to cut 6,000 staff at the airline – about a third of its 20,000-strong workforce – as part of a radical restructuring. Shares in Malaysia Airlines were suspended from trading on the Malaysian stock exchange before the announcement. Khazanah [...]
“Wish we could say more”: Apple sends out event invite – could it be to do with the iPhone 6…? August 28, 2014 If you received one of these, you know you're in Apple's in-crowd – this afternoon mysterious invitations landed in the inboxes of Silicon Valley's digirati. What could it possibly be? Judging by previous rumours, it's either: a) the iPhone 6 launch; or, er, b) the iPhone 6 launch. Although there's a (slim) chance it might [...]
David Cameron warns of “further consequences” if Russia continues to invade Ukraine August 28, 2014 David Cameron has said he is "extremely concerned" by evidence Vladimir Putin has launched a full-blown invasion in eastern Ukraine, warning there will be "further consequences" if Russia doesn't pull them out. In a statement this afternoon, the Prime Minister said the Russian president was "completely disregarding" the sovereignty of its neighbour. The international community [...]
Return of the ash cloud? The Icelandic met office has outlined three scenarios for the Bárðarbunga volcano August 28, 2014 Grumbling Icelandic volcano Bárðarbunga has had the airline industry on tenterhooks since mid-August as it continues to hint at a possible eruption. Now it looks like it might be getting ready to blow, after "cauldrons" of water began to appear on the ice sheet above it. The volcano, pronounced "Bowr-tha-boon-ga", is below the 500m-thick Vatnajökull [...]
German bonds hit record low as tensions between Ukraine and Russia simmer August 28, 2014 Investors piled into "safe haven" assets this morning, pushing the German 10-year bond yields to a record low after Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko cancelled a trip to Turkey citing "Russian troop deployments". In a televised statement, Poroshenko said his "place is in Ukraine", adding that he was calling a meeting of the security council "due [...]
Lending to small businesses under Funding for Lending falls £435m August 28, 2014 Net lending to small businesses under the Funding for Lending scheme, the government's attempt to persuade banks to lend to businesses cheaply, fell £435m in the three months to the end of June, figures from the Bank of England have shown. Although the net lending figure does not show a total – instead, it shows [...]
