Wednesday newspaper round-up: Banks, Goldman Sachs, Paddy Power
30th Dec 2009 08:37
Britain's banking system is to be investigated by a cross-party group of senior MPs which plans to draw up proposals to put the wider interests of society at the heart of a reformed banking sector. The Future of Banking Commission is to include John McFall, Labour chairman of the Commons Treasury S
Read moreTesco, Asda to freeze VAT on certain lines
29th Dec 2009 14:32
Supermarket chains Tesco and Asda are to freeze VAT on a number of their products. Tesco said thousands of products such as TVs, iPods, toys and bikes as well as many promotional lines will be held at the lower VAT rate of 15%. The duration of the VAT freeze will vary between stores, it added. Asd
Read moreVodafone's UK iPhone launch set for 14 Jan
21st Dec 2009 10:35
Mobile phone giant Vodafone has confirmed it will begin selling Apple's iPhone in the UK on 14 January. Tariffs start from £30 a month for a two-year contract, which includes 300 free voice minutes and unlimited texts, but the 3G 8GB handset will cost £59 and a 16GB £149. The 8GB phone is free for
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, Barclays, Bonuses
13th Dec 2009 11:20
Crunchie to Crème Egg chocolate maker, Cadbury, will tomorrow unveil its formal defence document, spelling out why the future is so creamy that it doesn't need Kraft Food's £10bn hostile takeover bid which has caused a furious response. Chairman Roger Carr and chief executive Todd Stitzer are expect
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Bank tax, Goldman Sachs, Tesco
11th Dec 2009 06:37
Some of London's best paid investment bankers may be exempt from Alistair Darling's bonus tax because the advisory businesses they work for may not count as banks. Investment banking boutiques, such as Lazard, NM Rothschild, Greenhill and Perella Weinberg, are expected to claim that they are not t
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Tesco, ENRC, Northgate
9th Dec 2009 06:39
London-listed businesses with good overseas exposure should be winners in the next few years. The UK economy is likely to remain sluggish for some time, but there are good opportunities in emerging markets all over the globe. Tesco's trading update yesterday highlighted the importance of this trend.
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Alistair Darling/PBR, Royal Bank of Scotland, Tesco
9th Dec 2009 06:31
Britain faces a "fiscal crisis" and is no longer "resistant" to the prospect of a humiliating and damaging debt downgrade, Moody's has warned. In an acutely embarrassing blow for Alistair Darling only hours before today's pre-Budget report, the ratings agency said that Britain faces the threat of a
Read moreLondon close: Glum faces as stocks slide
8th Dec 2009 16:40
A weak start on Wall Street and serious concerns about Greece's public finances and Dubai's debt restructuring ensured London ended deep in the red Tuesday. Fears over the solvency of Greece reached new levels after Fitch downgraded its outlook on the country by one rating to 'negative'. Fellow rat
Read moreLondon afternoon: US slump adds to Footsie woes
8th Dec 2009 15:04
Footsie's losses have widened further after a poor start on Wall Street. The leading share index had already fallen sharply, with Royal Bank of Scotland in focus. Trading in the state-controlled bank briefly stopped trading and it went into 'auction' as the price tumbled below 30p, though it has s
Read moreLondon midday: RBS dominates as rumours fly
8th Dec 2009 12:16
Footsie has turned down sharply with Royal Bank of Scotland dominating the morning. Trading in the state-controlled bank briefly stopped trading and it went into 'auction' as the price tumbled below 30p, though it has since recovered a little. The auction process is used when a company's share p
Read moreLondon open: Retailers lead fallers
8th Dec 2009 08:19
London's blue chips are slightly lower after the open on Tuesday with Tesco and Game among the main fallers after the retailers updated the market. Supermarket giant Tesco is leading the FTSE 100 fallers despite reporting strong sales in the third quarter as its Clubcard reward scheme helped it dr
Read moreLondon pre-open: Shares set to drop
8th Dec 2009 07:34
London's top stocks are expected to start around 13 points lower, with investors likely to focus on figures from retailers Tesco and Game. Supermarket giant Tesco saw strong sales in the third quarter as its Clubcard reward scheme helped it draw in customers and it continued to benefit from increa
Read moreTesco like-for-like sales up 2.8%
8th Dec 2009 07:04
Supermarket giant Tesco saw strong sales in the third quarter as its Clubcard reward scheme helped it draw in customers and it continued to benefit from increasing non-food sales. UK like-for-like sales excluding petrol and VAT were up by 2.8%, in line with analyst expectations. New stores in the
Read moreTuesday preview: Tesco, Game, Southern Cross
7th Dec 2009 16:14
Supermarket giant Tesco has recovered some of its bounce recently, as the effects of its double-points Clubcard promotional offer feed through to the top line. The company will issue a third quarter trading update on Tuesday. The performance in the third quarter last year was below par which means
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Pre-Budget, Shanks, Mitchells & Butlers
7th Dec 2009 06:37
Alistair Darling, chancellor, is preparing a crackdown on "extraordinarily high" bankers' bonuses when he makes his pre-Budget report on Wednesday, but is expected to reject a windfall tax on bank profits. Mr Darling's officials are in a race against time to draw up some form of supertax to curb wh
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