Vodafone NZ to merge with Sky

Vodafone in New Zealand will merge with the country’s biggest pay television provider Sky Network, it was announced today.

The deal, worth a $2.4 billion deal, will see UK-based Vodafone owning 51 percent of the joint company and will pave the way for Vodafone to expand its operations in Asia.

Sky is set to pay Vodafone NZ$1.25 billion in cash for the business, and issue new shares at a 21 percent premium to Wednesday’s closing price.

House prices to fall on Brexit volatility

UK house prices are set to fall for the first time since 2012 in the upcoming months, as Brexit worries weigh on the market.

A majority of members polled by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said prices over the next three months were likely to fall, but the drop would be short-term only; most still saw an increase over the next year as a whole.

George Osborne has already warned prices may fall up to 10 percent in the event of a Leave vote on the 23rd June, one of many economic warnings issued.

Flybe returns to profit

Troubled airline Flybe has returned to profit, after a catastrophic £35.6 million loss in 2015.

The airline announced pre-tax annual profits of £2.7 million this morning, after seeing an 8.2 percent increase in revenue and 5.9 percent jump in passenger numbers.

However, they warned that conditions remained “challenging”, with CEO Saad Hammad commenting: “We delivered top-line growth in a difficult revenue environment, expanding our network and carrying more passengers than last year.”

Flybe shares are currently trading down 1.28 percent (0901GMT), after an initial jump at market open.

09/06/2016