Michelin to close Ballymena tyre factory in County Antrim, resulting in the loss of 860 jobs November 3, 2015 French tyre manufacturer Michelin announced it is closing its factory in Ballymena, County Antrim, which employs some 860 people. The factory is to close by 2018, as part of a wider restructuring, which will also see a German factory close next year. The company cited "specific difficulties the site has been experiencing for several years" in forcing [...]
Candy Crush maker King Digital bought by US games giant Activision Blizzard for $5.9bn November 3, 2015 Activision Blizzard, the US gaming giant behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, announced this morning it's bought iPhone games developer King Digital, the European company behind the notoriously addictive Candy Crush, for $5.9bn (£3.8bn). The company said it will pay $18 per share for the company, a 20 per cent premium over King's closing price [...]
GSK has 40 new medicines in its pipeline, and half of these could be released in the next 10 years November 3, 2015 GSK has revealed it has 40 new drugs in the pipeline, including medicines to treat HIV and respiratory diseases. The British pharmaceutical company, which recently rejected a takeover approach from Pfizer, said during a presentation to investors in New York today that half of these could be released by the end of 2020. Seven are in [...]
Swiss bank UBS lowers profit guidance and pushes back targets November 3, 2015 Swiss bank UBS has warned that tougher regulation in Europe as well as a slowing global economy is going to weigh on profits over coming years. Despite stronger third quarter results than many of its European and US rivals, the bank's share price dropped by five per cent on the news. Net profit at the bank [...]
Amazon and Argos deals are winning UK Black Friday 2015 and Christmas online shopping race November 3, 2015 It looks like Father Christmas is planning to do most of his shopping at Amazon and Argos this year after an analysis of Google’s most popular Christmas search terms showed that the two retail giants have taken the greatest share of visits over the last three months. Linkdex has crunched data on 7,000 Christmas-related keyword [...]
Barratt, Berkeley Group, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey share prices fall as Liberum brands housebuilders “overvalued” November 3, 2015 Is this another sign of the much-anticipated bubble? Shares in some of the UK's largest housebuilders fell this morning after one broker downgraded them to "sell". In a note this morning, Charlie Campbell of Liberum cut Barratt, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey, saying the largest housebuilders' valuations were "too optimistic". All three were among the biggest fallers on [...]
Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden announces an extra $1bn of savings to make $70bn BG deal work with low oil prices November 3, 2015 Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden sought to reassure investors today that Shell's planned takeover of rival BG group will still work, assuming oil prices stabilise at around $60 a barrel. The deal, which is expected to complete early in 2016 and could be worth as much as $70bn (£45.3bn), is one of the biggest mergers announced [...]
Tullow Oil’s share price is rallying as investors cheer maintained bank lending limit November 3, 2015 Tullow Oil's share price is leading the FTSE 250 today, as investors celebrated banks maintaining lending to the company. In mid-morning trading the oil and gas producer's share price was up 14.03 per cent up at 227.8p. This goes against the trend of oil producing companies of late, who have suffered due to global supply glut concerns. [...]
Forget clicks vs bricks: Amazon is opening its first physical bookshop Amazon Books today in Seattle November 3, 2015 If you needed further proof that the distinction between clicks and bricks is a thing of the past, look no further. Strange as it may sound, Amazon is moving firmly into the physical world with Amazon Books. The online retail giant is opening its first real bookshop in Seattle today. Unlike the online marketplace, though, [...]
Imperial Tobacco profits rise despite drooping cigarette sales November 3, 2015 Cigarette sales are down for the FTSE-listed tobacco firm, despite an increase in growth for brands like Davidoff and Gauloises. The figures Imperial Tobacco reported full year profits of £3.05bn, up 2.4 per cent from £2.98bn last year. Net sales of tobacco are down 2.6 per cent to £6.25bn, but volume of the company’s “growth [...]
