John Lewis bonus falls to 10 per cent – but still gets a big cheer March 10, 2016 John Lewis Partnership staff gave a huge cheer this morning as the retailer revealed this year's bonus stood at 10 per cent – down on last year's 11 per cent boost. More than 91,000 JLP partners – who work for both the eponymous department store and Waitrose – applauded as the figure was revealed from a giant [...]
Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden’s total remuneration plummeted last year, sad face March 10, 2016 Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden's pay packet was cut by almost 80 per cent last year, as the energy giant faced a challenging year ahead of its mega-merger with BG. The boss pocketed a mere €5.1m for 2015, having received a total remuneration of €24.2m the year before, though this included pension accrual, taxes and other [...]
Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the UK’s big six energy companies: CMA wants energy price cap for pre-payment meters March 10, 2016 Britain's competition watchdog wants to introduce temporary price controls for four million households which are on pre-payment meters, as it laid out sweeping reforms aimed at injecting more competition into Britain's energy market. This would cut bills by a total of £300m a year and will remain in place until 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) [...]
Morrisons’ share price falls 2.5 per cent as dividend is cut on sales and profits decline March 10, 2016 Sales and profits at Morrisons have fallen again – but the supermarket management is talking confidently about progress made so far, and guided on future dividends in an effort to woo shareholders. Morrisons' share price was down 2.5 per cent in mid-morning trading, however, as investors digested the news that this year's dividend was being slashed [...]
Home Retail Group posts “significantly stronger” cash flow as time ticks on in Sainsbury’s vs Steinhoff bid for Argos March 10, 2016 Home Retail Group has revealed much higher cash flow levels and signs of improvement at Argos – the centre of a bidding war between Sainsbury's and Steinhoff. The figures Argos' like-for-likes dropped 2.6 per cent in the year to 27 February, to £4.1bn, as the retailer sustained second half declines of two per cent. Margins fell [...]
Societe Generale to cut 550 jobs over next five years March 9, 2016 Societe Generale is to cut 550 jobs over the next five years. The bank confirmed it is targeting 550 job reductions in the back offices of its French retail banking network, resulting in the closures of six out of 20 locations. The French bank said the plan would not rely on mandatory redundancies. The move is part [...]
Amazon is going to lease Boeing planes in move to set up air delivery network March 9, 2016 Amazon.com is going to lease 20 Boeing aircraft as the online retailer makes a move toward setting up its own air delivery service. The online giant is going to lease Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, according to Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), and comes as the company has been testing drone deliveries. Amazon currently relies on [...]
BMW racks up another record year, pushed on by favourable currency headwinds as share price falls due to outlook for “slight” sales increase in 2016 March 9, 2016 German carmaker BMW's share price dropped this afternoon, despite posting a record breaking sixth year in a row. Shares dipped by two per cent immediately after the figures were released. Revenue, sales, and pre-tax profit all set fresh records at the luxury car firm, though investors baulked at the suggestion 2016 would see numbers only "slightly up" [...]
Zara owner Inditex to slow down store openings as consumers shift online March 9, 2016 Inditex shares rallied this morning after the world's largest fashion retailer posted a strong start to the year and said it will be slowing down the pace of store openings as consumers shop increasingly online. The Zara and Massimo Dutti owner said it plans to grow store space by six to eight per cent in the coming year compared with eight per cent [...]
Prudential share price up as company announces boost to profits for the full-year ended December 2015 and reveals a special dividend March 9, 2016 Share price for Prudential rose this morning as the financial services company revealed a boost to its profits for the year and awarded a special dividend. Operating profits for the group rose to £4bn, up 22 per cent on the year before. Business was booming in the UK, with operating profits from the company's UK [...]