Toyota slashes outlook as Asia sales plummet 13 per cent November 5, 2015 The world’s largest car maker has been forced to cut its sales outlook for 2015 on sliding car sales. The figures Toyota reported net revenue of 14.09 trillion yen for the six months to 30 September, an increase of 8.9 per cent against the same period last year. Net profit was up 11 per cent from [...]
Morrisons share price falls as interims show profits plummet 35 per cent; chief executive David Potts admits turnaround will be “a long journey” November 5, 2015 Morrisons' share price fell this morning after the supermarket revealed yet another set of bad results, with underlying profits down more than a third. The figures The troubled supermarket, which yesterday sold off its convenience stores arm, said underlying pre-tax profits had tumbled 35 per cent to £117m, while turnover had dropped 5.1 per cent [...]
Better skills are needed for better productivity, argues parliamentary report November 5, 2015 Developing skills is key to solving the UK’s productivity problem, a report published today by the government’s Education Committee and Business, Innovation and Skills Committee has argued. The paper, which features commissioned research from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), compares skills and productivity in the UK to that in the US, [...]
Morning Wire shadow MPC votes 6-3 in favour of holding interest rates at current level November 5, 2015 City economists who enjoy poring over Bank of England data (we know who you are) will think Christmas has come early today, as Threadneedle Street publishes its latest interest rates decision, minutes from the meeting, and its quarterly inflation report. Dubbed “Super Thursday”, the hat-trick of releases should give a stronger indication of how the [...]
City remains in dark on HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver’s travel plans November 5, 2015 Should I stay or should I should I go? Not the song by The Clash, but the question on HSBC directors’ minds since the bank kicked off its review of whether it ought to move its headquarters. If the exercise was calculated to extract concessions from ministers for Europe’s biggest lender, it has been adroitly handled: [...]
Facebook revenue surges up 41pc to $4.5bn for third quarter, sending share prices soaring in after hours trading November 5, 2015 Facebook has reported revenue of $4.5bn (£2.9bn) for the third quarter of 2015, up 41 per cent from $3.2bn for the same period the year before. Share prices soared 5.2 per cent to an after hours trading high of $109.34, compared to a market close price of $103.94. “We had a good quarter and got [...]
The revolution will be monetised: Activist investors are closing in on a record year November 5, 2015 Activist shareholders are shaking up corporate boardrooms in record numbers as they look to exert their influence at a time of swelling company cash piles. Incidents of shareholders pushing for change in Europe have risen 126 per cent since 2010, according to data published yesterday. So far this year, the UK has been a hotbed of investor [...]
Social rents cuts a greater benefit to the exchequer than to tenants, finds think tank IFS in new report November 5, 2015 Slashing social rents will benefit the exchequer more than tenants, research published today by think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has revealed. The report, which was funded by Trust for London, found that cutting social rents – the amount charged to social housing tenants – would only increase renters’ total disposable incomes by £0.7bn. [...]
Whole Foods share price takes an unhealthy turn as group unveils new capital strategy November 4, 2015 Shares in healthy supermarket chain Whole Foods Market dropped by 7.31 per cent in after hours trading, as the company unveiled plans for a $1bn (£650m) share repurchase programme and revealed that same-store sales had declined by 0.2 per cent in the final quarter of its financial year. Total sales increased by six per cent to [...]
Electronics company Qualcomm profits crash 44pc to $1.1bn for its fourth quarter of 2015 November 4, 2015 Electronics company Qualcomm today announced net income for its fourth quarter of 2015 had shot down 44 per cent to $1.1bn (£710m) from $1.9bn for the same period last year. Revenue for the company’s last quarter also dropped, although not quite so dramatically, falling 18 per cent to $5.5bn from $6.7bn. “Our fiscal fourth quarter [...]