At the close: FTSE 100 index closes down as miners suffer losses December 4, 2015 The FTSE 100 index closed down today, led lower by miners, while tourism stocks also dropped. The UK's top blue-chip index closed 0.59 per cent down at 6,238 points, marking four successive days of losses and the first weekly decline in three weeks. Miners wiped out gains they made earlier in the day, with Glencore closing 3.25 per [...]
Glencore, BHP Billiton, Anglo American share price: Miners suffer as iron ore falls to fresh 10-year low December 4, 2015 Iron ore prices fell to a fresh 10-year low today, amid concerns falling demand from its biggest consumer would add to a global glut in the steelmaking raw material. It came after industry consultancy Custeel said more steel mills in China's Shanxi province have halted production due to shrinking demand and shortage of cash. Spot iron ore prices fell to [...]
JD Wetherspoon share price rises despite warning customer details stolen in cyber attack December 4, 2015 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has said that the personal details of more than 650,000 customers may have been stolen in a cyber attack, and a small portion of this included credit card data. For the majority of customers no financial data was stolen, and no passwords were obtained. However, the last four digits of around 100 customers' credit [...]
Uber’s rivals Ola, Didi Kuaidi, Lyft and GrabTaxi gang up on the rideshare app with “global alliance” December 4, 2015 Four of Uber's biggest competitors are ganging up on the cab hailing app, in a global alliance which they say will reach nearly half of the world's population. Taxi-hailing apps Ola, Didi Kuaidi, Lyft and GrabTaxi said they plan to start rolling out joint partner products in the first quarter of next year. Read more: Uber isn't breaking the law Uber has [...]
Uber’s $62.5bn valuation means it’s worth more than BT, Prudential and Barclays – and 86 other FTSE 100 constituents December 4, 2015 Uber is reported to have filed paperwork outlining plans to raise as much as $2.1bn (£1.4bn) in its latest funding round. Were the company to complete that funding round (and according to the Bloomberg report, the wheels are very much in motion for that to happen – with Tiger Global Management and T Rowe Price both [...]
Volkswagen UK market share plummets after emissions scandal as new UK car registrations rise December 4, 2015 Volkswagen sales in the UK fell 20 per cent in November, compared with last year, figures by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have shown – while the number of new cars sold in the UK rose. The embattled carmaker, which has been hit after it emerged software installed in some of its diesel engines allowed [...]
Berkeley Group share price rockets as it unveils an even more ambitious dividend target December 4, 2015 Shares in housebuilder Berkeley Group jumped more than six per cent this morning, after the housebuilder announced plans to raise its dividend target to £16.34 per share by 2021. In a statement this morning, the housebuilder's founder, Tony Pidgley – who won the Business Personality of the Year award at last month's Morning Wire awards – said the [...]
FTSE 100 index opens down after dovish ECB decision, led lower on tourism stocks December 4, 2015 The FTSE 100 index opened lower today, still digesting the more-dovish-than-expected decisions by the European Central Bank that left markets disappointed. The UK's top blue-chip index opened 0.45 per cent down at 6,248 points. The FTSE 100 was led lower by Whitbread, which fell 2.51 per cent to 4,587.5p per share, after it bucked yesterday's trend [...]
George Osborne admits the Treasury could hold Lloyds Banking Group shares until June 2016 December 4, 2015 The government has admitted it won't finish its trading plan to sell off Lloyds shares until June 2016 – after it originally said it will finish by the end of this month. In a statement this morning, chancellor George Osborne said the government will extend its trading plan until the end of June. Back in October [...]
Peter Hetherington appointed chief executive of online trading firm IG Group December 4, 2015 Online derivatives trader IG Group has appointed Peter Hetherington as its chief executive. Hetherington took on the role of interim chief executive at the company's AGM in October, after Tim Howkins's retirement in July. Before that, he was the company's chief operating officer, and has been a board member since July 2002. “I am delighted to take on the role of [...]