Pets at Home hit a record low on Thursday amid fears of a profit warning with its full-year results this month. Morgan Stanley slashed earnings forecasts for Pets at Home’s 2018 financial year to reflect margin pressure, continued weak sales and rising costs. So-called “category killer” specialist retailers need high gross margins to be economically viable because they suffer from low sales densities and slow stock turn, […]
There can’t be many global brands that have the means, or even the inclination, to shut down an entire city block in Los Angeles – but that is precisely what Hermès did earlier this year. As part of its touring spring/summer 2017 men’s collection, for one night, Hermès transformed a forgotten warehouse in Los Angeles into DwnTwnMen LA, an interactive exhibition, fashion show venue and art space. […]
By Nandita Bose | WHEATON, Ill. WHEATON, Ill. German grocery chain Aldi Inc is trying to beat the world’s biggest retailer at its own game: low prices. Already with 1,600 U.S. stores, Aldi has set a minimum target of selling groceries at a 21 percent discount to its U.S. rivals, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), Chief Executive Jason Hart told Reuters. His strategy, previously unreported, centers on […]
A consortium led by Macquarie Group is buying a controlling stake in one of Australia’s biggest public energy companies in a deal that will deliver a A$7.6bn windfall to the New South Wales government. The sale of a 50.4 per cent stake in Endeavour Energy to the Advance Energy consortium completes a trio of energy sales in NSW under an “asset recycling” policy, which the US administration […]
By Mark Hosenball and David Shepardson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The Trump administration is likely to expand a ban on laptops on commercial aircraft to include some European countries, but is reviewing how to ensure lithium batteries stored in luggage holds do not explode in midair, officials briefed on the matter said on Wednesday. Any expansion of the ban could impact U.S. carriers such as United Airlines (UAL.N), […]
10 May 2017 BP today announced that it has started gas production from the first two fields, Taurus and Libra, of the West Nile Delta development in Egypt. The project was delivered eight months ahead of start-up schedule and under budget. First gas was exported to Egypt’s national grid on 24 March 2017 and the commissioning of all nine wells of the development’s first two fields and […]
Jes Staley, chief executive of Barclays, has apologised to shareholders for the “error” he admitted he had made in trying to uncover the identity of a whistleblower. In an attempt to take the sting out of the bank’s annual meeting on Wednesday, the Barclays CEO said: “I feel it is important that I acknowledge to you, our shareholders, that I made a mistake in becoming involved in […]
Manama, 10 May 2017 GFH Financial Group (GFH) announced today that Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has upgraded its national scale ratings by a notch to ‘BBB-(bh)/A3(bh)’ (TripleB Minus/ A Three) with a ‘Stable’ outlook and maintained its international scale ratings at ‘BB/B’ (Double B / Single B), 1`. According to the agency’s report, the rating action recognizes recent positive developments that have reinforced the Group’s balance […]
Saudis often liken Aramco, the kingdom’s state oil company, to a fat cow or productive hen. The company has for decades been the bedrock of the economy and the enabler of the government largesse to which Saudis have grown accustomed. Now its future has become a source of concern as disquiet grows over plans by Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince, to sell a 5 per […]
By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey in the fallout over Comey’s probe of Democrat Hillary Clinton’s emails last year, saying Comey was no longer able to effectively lead the law enforcement agency. Comey had been leading an FBI investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible […]
By Timothy Gardner | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Eight Democratic senators asked U.S. regulators on Tuesday to launch an investigation into billionaire Carl Icahn’s activities in the U.S. biofuels blending credit market, saying the activist investor may have violated trading laws since becoming an adviser to President Donald Trump. “We are writing to request that your agencies investigate whether Carl Icahn violated insider trading laws, anti-market manipulation laws, or […]
Despite paying trillions in Federal taxes every year, Americans’ requests for a clear, detailed breakdown of where their money goes every year, have gone unanswered and been ignored by both Republican and Democrat administrations for one simple reason: transparency has an unpleasant way of mutating into accountability, which is the scariest thing imaginable for any career politician. Not any more. On Tuesday, the US Treasury launched a […]
By Jonathan Stempel | OMAHA, Neb. OMAHA, Neb. It has been decades since anyone thought of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, or even its insurance operations, as “very, very small.” But that’s how a senior executive describes biBERK, a unit that lets owners of small businesses shop online for commercial vehicle, general liability, property, workers’ compensation and eventually professional liability insurance. The biBERK chief operating officer, Rakesh […]
Malta’s embattled prime minister, Joseph Muscat, is facing a growing rebellion in Brussels, where MEPs are openly calling for his departure amid a growing corruption scandal involving his wife, a Panamanian shell company and alleged payments from the president of Azerbaijan’s daughter. The Mediterranean island state’s presidency of the EU, which began in January, has been rocked by allegations of money laundering and kickbacks. Malta’s spell at […]
It was planned as a routine engagement for Martin Schulz — open a new children’s playground, say a few words, sign some autographs and pose for selfies. But the event in a drab suburb of the industrial western town of Hamm was anything but an easy ride for the German Social Democrat leader, who is challenging Chancellor Angela Merkel in September’s parliamentary election. What began as a […]
Thanks to a shoutout from John Oliver, the election of President Trump, an insult from White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and, oh yeah, its journalism, ProPublica is enjoying a pretty good run. Just how good was disclosed on Friday, when the nonprofit investigative outlet put out its quarterly report to stakeholders. The report, which contains updates on ProPublica’s strategy and journalistic output, included a by-the-numbers page […]
While the hedge fund world finds itself in a time of crisis, with a “great rotation” of capital away from active management which continues to largely underperform the broader market, and toward cheaper, passive strategies, nothing could spoil the mood at one of the industry’s biggest events held today at the Lincoln Center, the 22nd annual Ira Sohn conference, where a dozen of the hedge fund industry’s […]
“We should all agree that in our constitutional democracy, the executive’s ability to attack another country is constrained by the law,” Justin Florence, the group’s legal director and a former Obama White House lawyer, wrote in an essay announcing the lawsuit. He added: “Some countries may tolerate a head of state launching a new conflict without offering a clear legal justification, but we should not.” Continue reading […]
GENEVA There has been no new wave of killings prompted by the Philippines’ war on drugs, and reports to the contrary are “alternative facts”, an ally of President Rodrigo Duterte told the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday. Duterte has received widespread condemnation in the West for failing to curtail the killings and address activists’ allegations of systematic, state-sponsored murders by police of drug users and dealers, […]
Warren Buffett said on Monday United Airlines made a “terrible mistake” in handling the fallout of a recent incident when a man was forcibly dragged off a United flight, which drew widespread outrage and sparked Congressional hearings. But the billionaire, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) is the largest investor in the carrier’s parent United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.N), acknowledged on CNBC television that flying has become less […]
AMSTERDAM Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel (AKZO.AS) on Monday rejected a third takeover proposal from larger U.S. rival PPG valued at 26.9 billion euros ($29.51 billion)saying it undervalues the company, faces antitrust risks, and does not address other stakeholder concerns such as “cultural differences.” A group of the company’s shareholders who support a merger of the two companies have been pushing for talks, but Akzo said in […]
Akzo Nobel, the Dutch paints and coatings group, is set to reject a €26.9bn takeover offer by its US rival PPG Industries, in a move that will force its suitor to have to choose between making a hostile bid or walking away. Akzo is expected to reveal its rejection as soon as early this week, according to people close to the process. It would come roughly two […]
(Image: file photo) A vulnerability in Intel chips that went undiscovered for almost a decade allows hackers to remotely gain full control over affected Windows PCs without needing a password. The “critical”-rated bug, disclosed by Intel last week, lies in a feature of Intel’s Active Management Technology (more commonly known as just AMT), which allows IT administrators to remotely carry out maintenance and other tasks on entire […]
Sign up to receive FirstFT by email here Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist, won an emphatic victory in France’s presidential run-off against Marine Le Pen, the far-right Front National leader, on Sunday, taking 65.1 per cent of the vote, according to estimates. Mr Macron’s victory is a phenomenal achievement for the 39-year-old former Rothschild banker, who has never before held elected office and whose political movement En Marche! was […]
