Author: Lucas

The North West water and wastewater company is in the first phase of a programme to grow its team as it continues to deliver its largest ever environmental investment programme. Hundreds of roles, including process operators, process controllers, field service engineers and customer support technicians, are available in the company’s wastewater division. With roles based across the region including in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire the company is inviting people the opportunity to find out more at on online jobs event being held at 4pm on Wednesday 4 March. People interested in taking part can find out more…

Gold, a precious metal, mostly appears in alloys and only rarely in its pure form. Because of its physical properties, it is resistant to air, moisture, heat and many solvents. Gold also has a high density. Gold is regarded as a secure investment and is very popular as a means of coverage in times of crisis. Its high value and its rarity and uniqueness make gold a secure financial investment which also withstands inflation. (read more)Gold was extracted in Egypt as early as 2000 B.C. and the first gold coins were minted in 50 B.C. in Rome. This shows that…

Image source: Getty Images For me, one FTSE 100 value stock stands out above all the rest. Its name? JD Sports Fashion (LSE: JD). The self-styled ‘King of Trainers’ has one of the lowest price-to-earnings ratios on the entire blue-chip index at just 6.6. That’s astonishingly low for a business forecast to deliver £849m of profit this year. So am I missing something? JD should be storming it. The group sells hugely popular trainers and sportswear brands in around 4,850 stores in 49 countries, and continues to open hundreds more each year. The £1.1bn acquisition of US chain Hibbett in 2024 gave it…

Birmingham and Solihull-based commercial property advisory firm Shepherd Commercial has promoted Ross Bendall to director as it strengthens its senior leadership team. Ross joined the independent chartered surveyors in 2024 as associate director and now works alongside existing directors Kaine Arkinson and Chris Peutherer.  He brings more than 30 years’ experience in commercial property, having qualified as a chartered surveyor in 1992 and advised on acquisitions, disposals, sales and lettings across office, industrial and retail sectors. Ross said: “I am delighted to take on the role of director at Shepherd Commercial.  “Since joining the firm, I have been impressed by…

In response to the US-Israel and Iran conflict, two major Israeli gas fields are set to halt production, and the Haifa oil refinery, with a capacity of 197,000 b/d, has shut down several of its units. Israel’s energy ministry has instructed Greek firm Energean to temporarily suspend production at its offshore Karish gas field “following the recent geopolitical escalation in the region”, News.Az reports, citing foreign media. A source said Israel has also ordered the closure of the country’s largest gas field, Leviathan, as a precautionary measure. Leviathan operator Chevron referred questions to the energy ministry. There is no indication…

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) announced a big increase in its dividend and an expanded share buyback programme as it looks to return more of its growing cash flow to shareholders.The financial data analytics company has performed well in the past year, but its shares have sold off, possibly in response to AI disruption fears. Management is using this as an opportunity to buy back stock. It has already purchased £415mn in the year to date and plans to complete another £3bn buyback by February 2027, an increase from the £2.1bn it returned in 2025. These purchases are being…

Meta Platforms Inc is exploring ways to integrate stablecoin payments into its apps, embracing a fast-growing form of digital currency increasingly used in online commerce.The company is testing the digital payments within its existing payments platform. The small and focused trial will use existing stablecoins, according to a person familiar with the plans, who declined to be named discussing unreleased products. The person declined to say which stablecoins Meta is using in its tests.Meta has no plans to develop its own stablecoin, said Meta spokesman Andy Stone in a post on X. “This is about enabling people and businesses to…

Zimbabwe dollars SOUTH Africa’s Valterra Platinum is owed $100m in unpaid export proceeds by Zimbabwe’s government even as Harare has begun making partial payments to clear the arrears, said Reuters on Wednesday. Zimbabwe requires exporters to convert 30% of their foreign currency proceeds into local currency, a retention rule that has resulted in delayed payments to Valterra and other platinum producers, according to the country’s mining chamber. The government has cited cash flow constraints. “It’s about $100m that hasn’t been able to be accessed by us,” Valterra CFO Sayurie Naidoo told analysts during a results call. “We have been engaging…

Microsoft’s stock was largely flat on Friday, after the stock saw its biggest daily decline since 2020, sliding 10% Thursday after it reported earnings.Shares fell despite the company’s second-quarter earnings beating analyst revenue expectations. Like other hyperscalers, Microsoft has invested huge sums in its AI infrastructure buildout. But Meta reported huge AI spending on the same day and its stock jumped 8%.Why did Microsoft’s stock drop?Investors latched onto the growth of Microsoft’s cloud computing platform Azure and other cloud services, which came in at 39% below StreetAccount’s 39.4% consensus. Those areas saw 40% growth in the fiscal first quarter.The company’s…

The precious metals are steady in early Friday trade. Both gold and silver continued to hover around recent highs as the investors were weighing multiple factors, including US-Iran nuclear talks and dollar near three-week highs.   Gold holds above $5,200/oz level Gold is back above the $5,200/oz level in early Asian trade on Friday. The dollar near 3-week highs is a concern as gold is dollar-denominated, and this makes gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.  Data from the US was also another factor that weighed on sentiment. The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits increased slightly…