Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea cheer is Ladbrokes’ woe
Punter-friendly football results, including the 5-0 win by Chelsea at Swansea in January, hit profits at the troubled bookie Ladbrokes. New chief executive Jim Mullen said he plans to bring forward the results of his strategic review to June from September after first-quarter earnings fell by 22.3 per cent to £14.3m.
Eurozone to ‘pick up’, Bank says
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee expects the eurozone economy to “pick up”, according to minutes from this month’s meeting. It said growth from the UK’s largest trading partner should offset the impact of sterling’s rise against the single currency. It left interest rates unchanged.
Cartier owner frank about franc
Richemont, the Swiss-based company that owns luxury brands such as Cartier and Dunhill, blamed losses from derivatives and investments in its cash pile of €5.4 bn (£3.9bn) as it warned full-year profits this year would be down 36 per cent. Analysts said the losses could be related to the Swiss franc revaluation this year.
Punch toasts its debt swap success
Punch Taverns signalled it is getting to grips with its debt problems following last year’s debt for equity swap which saw its borrowings cut by £600m to £1.5bn. The 3,600-strong pub company said half-yearly operating profits fell from £108m to £105m adding that it was on target to make £195m to £200m for the full year.
Ex-GCHQ boss joins StanChart
A former director of GCHQ has joined Standard Chartered as a member and senior adviser to its Financial Crime Risk committtee. Sir Iain Lobban was head of GCHQ from 2008 until last year and has more than a decade’s experience of counter-terrorism and cyber-security.
Bowling kingpin picks up rival
The UK’s largest ten-pin bowling business, The Original Bowling Company, has snapped up smaller rival Bowlplex. The deal, at an unnamed price, comes just months after private equity firm Electra invested £51m in TOBC, which operates under the Hollywood Bowl and AMF brands.
Travis Perkins builds its sales
Building supplies firm Travis Perkins said underlying sales rose 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year, with its general merchanting and Wickes consumer divisions performing well. Their progress was offset by a decline in plumbing and heating.
Metro celebrates half a million
Metro Bank, which has 34 outlets, said it had opened its 500,000th customer account after year-on-year growth of 56 per cent in the first quarter. Deposits increased to £3.3bn, and almost half of total lending was to business customers.Losses narrowed to £8.5m.
BHP Billiton slows plans on iron ore
BHP Billiton is slowing down its expansion plans in iron ore, the first big miner to pull back as a glut sends prices tumbling. It said it would delay an Australian port project meant to boost output to 290 million tonnes, up 20 million a year.
Aviva Investors hires fund boss
The asset manager Aviva Investors has named Simon Young as UK equities fund manager. Mr Young, who joins from Black Rock, will be based in London and report to Trevor Green, the group’s head of UK equities.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments