Smart metering firm Bglobal rocketed 31 per cent in morning trading on Thursday after signing a joint venture agreement with South Korean electronics giant Samsung. Bglobal says the agreement will only come into effect after it receives a firm order from a UK energy supplier for its 'smart energy' solution. There are also regulatory hurdles to overcome. Nevertheless the market clearly suspects Samsung would not have entered into such a deal without a clear idea of its probable outcome. Happy days at Bglobal.
The travails of entertainment retailer HMV are well documented, it's fallen 96.5% in the last five years as it sought to do battle with the rise of online shopping. Today it announced full year like-for-like sales down 12.1%. The total sales figure came in at £923.2m against £1.149bn last year. The loss before tax was £16.2m. Under most measures this is not a success but because of the very low expectations for HMV, the stock actually gained 7.8% in morning trading.
Psion, the handheld computer firm, has certainly had an interesting history. You may remember its handheld organisers. They made the firm a lot of money from the mid-eighties onwards, leading to it becoming a major 'dot com' stock. Since 2000, the shares have fallen 97%. But Psion hasn't given up. It now makes rugged, mobile computers for applications like gas metering.
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Revenues in the half year to end of June were £80.2m, slightly down on the £81.4m seen in the prior year. It also turned in a loss before tax of £8.7m, against a loss of £5.3m last year. It has also decided against a dividend payment. The market was broadly supportive, with the stock up very slightly in morning trading.
BS
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Do you qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment if you live abroad?The Winter Fuel Payment will be means tested for expats living in Europe, in line with the new rules impacting those in the UK. But a quirk in the system means not all countries are eligible.
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What the Employment Rights Bill means for your jobNew workplace reforms are set to give employees new rights to benefits and flexible working
