The nightmare before Christmas: Aldi and Lidl hammer Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco October 21, 2015 Britain's biggest supermarkets are facing a crunch Christmas as the pressure from German discounters Aldi and Lidl is ramped up, with experts warning of a bloody battle for this year’s festive season. The German duo have both seen growth rates return to over 17 per cent in the past three months, according to data from [...]
IBM ‘s share price is getting walloped October 20, 2015 IBM shares have plummeted to a five-year low after the company released disappointing results yesterday. The shares fell 5.35 per cent to $141.26 after markets reopened. IBM’s results showed that its up and coming cloud computing business was not yet making up the ground lost by its more traditional areas as it posted a 14th [...]
Shares fall as McColl’s looks to sell 100 newsagents October 20, 2015 McColl’s has put 100 newsagents on the block as it focuses on opening more lucrative convenience stores instead. The FTSE 250 retailer, which listed last year, has been steadily converting its newsagents into food and wine outlets at it looks to advantage of the fast-growing convenience sector and lure in higher-spending shoppers. The company said [...]
AstraZeneca ramps up business in Russia with new £145m drugs factory October 20, 2015 AstraZeneca opened a $224m (£145m) drugs factory near Moscow today, strengthening its long-term commitment to building business in Russia. The British pharmaceutical firm will use the facility to manufacture and package medicines, allowing it to domestically manufacture over 60 per cent of the drugs it sells In Russia. In an attempt to encourage local industry, [...]
Inmarsat signs 10 year deal with Lufthansa to provide in-flight wifi October 20, 2015 Inmarsat, London's very own rocket-launching satellite communications company, has signed a 10 year deal with Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline, to provide high-speed internet across all its European airline fleet. Under the agreement, Inmarsat will connect more than 150 Lufthansa aeroplanes to its Global Xpress (GX) satellite network, the first of which should be ready to [...]
Waitrose boss Mark Price to step down amid rumours of Channel 4 job October 20, 2015 Waitrose’s managing director Mark Price is stepping down from his role at the upmarket supermarket chain amid rumours he is being lined up for the top job at Channel 4. The ebullient 55 year-old, who gave himself the nickname the “chubby grocer”, will leave in April next year after 33 years at the John Lewis [...]
Healthcare M&A heats up: More tie-ups in the pipeline for London-listed Al Noor October 20, 2015 London-listed Al Noor can't get a minute's rest. Just a week after agreeing to a £1.4bn merger with South African company Mediclinic, it has received interest from yet another rival healthcare company. In an announcement today, it revealed that VPS, a privately-held healthcare provider with a network of hospitals in the UAE, has shown preliminary [...]
Trouble for the big four supermarkets as Aldi and Lidl growth speeds up again October 20, 2015 German discounters Aldi and Lidl both saw growth rates return to over 17 per cent over the last three months, dashing hopes for the Big Four that a slowdown earlier in the year may have been part of a longer term trend. The cut-price chains have been the fastest-growing grocers in the sector for some time now. But in [...]
Rio Tinto rolls out driverless trucks to transport iron ore at mines in Australia October 20, 2015 Mining giant Rio Tinto has rolled out driverless trucks to transport iron ore at two of its mines in Australia. The driverless trucks are able to operate 24 hours, 365 days a year, according to the report by ABC news, and industry insiders estimate each truck could save up to 500 work hours a year. But the miner still [...]
Costa Coffee adds shot to Whitbread despite Living Wage costs October 20, 2015 The figures Pre-tax profits at Whitbread jumped 13 per cent to £291.3m in the six months to the end of August, beating expectations. Underlying profit at Costa Coffee steamed ahead 28.4 per cent to £67.3m while Whitbread's hotel and restaurant business ticked up 10.8 per cent to £249.4 per cent. Meanwhile, total revenues came in at £1.4bn, a [...]
