Dunelm sales jump with rising superstores April 3, 2014 Homewares retailer Dunelm group has reported sales growth of 9.9 per cent for the third quarter of the financial year. Total sales value for the 13 week period to 29 March climbed to £195m. Like-for-like sales grew by five per cent. Dunelm has had four store openings over the period including two superstores. The company [...]
B&Q owner Kingfisher confirms exclusive talks to buy Mr Bricolage April 3, 2014 B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher has announced it’s entered exclusive talks to acquire Mr Bricolage, a French home improvement retailer. Should the deal being discussed go through, FTSE 100 company Kingfisher would initially acquire 68.1 per cent of the firm’s share capital – from the majority shareholders – making a subsequent offer to buy shares [...]
Asian markets cheer Chinese stimulus policies April 3, 2014 Asian stocks have been buoyed in trading today, rising for the seventh day in a row, after the Chinese government said it’d be cutting taxes for smaller companies. It also announced plans to speed up construction on railways, selling 150bn yuan (£14.5bn) of bonds this year to fund work in less-developed areas. The Nikkei has [...]
Any Other Business – 03/04 April 3, 2014 IF YOU’VE got stacks of £50 notes hidden under your floorboards at home, take heed of the Bank of England’s latest hashtag. The bank’s social media whizzes have been spreading the word about the end of the Houblon £50 note this month using #DonthoardyourHoublons in its tweets. John Houblon of course was the first ever governor [...]
London house prices are now more than double the rest of the UK April 2, 2014 LONDON’S house prices have soared to historic levels, with the gap between prices in the capital and elsewhere in the UK expanding to the widest it has ever been. Figures released by Nationwide yesterday showed that the cost of a typical London home – at £362,699 in March – was over twice as high as [...]
Britain to have just one coal mine after UK Coal announces closures April 2, 2014 THERE will be just a single deep coal mine left in the UK within 18 months after the country’s largest producer said yesterday it was likely to close two of Britain’s last three remaining deep pit mines. UK Coal said it was consulting on plans to shut Kellingley in Yorkshire, and Thoresby in Nottinghamshire, because [...]
Sports Direct shareholders revolt over Ashley’s £70m bonus scheme April 2, 2014 SPORTS Direct shareholders have rejected plans to introduce a bonus scheme that would have awarded founder Mike Ashley a £70m windfall, after revolting over a similar scheme two years ago. The retail giant said yesterday that it has cancelled a general meeting that was due to take place tomorrow after the board realised there was [...]
Economists tell Carney to hike interest rates in 2014 April 2, 2014 THE BRITISH economy is in danger of overheating if interest rates are not increased this year, which could lead to a new boom and bust cycle, economists warned yesterday. The UK’s rapid recovery has pushed down unemployment so rapidly that there is little spare capacity left, according to Legal and General’s James Carrick. If nothing [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 03 April 2014 April 2, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Greek government’s video turmoil The Greek government was plunged into chaos on Wednesday after the release of a video showing the prime minister’s chief of staff having a politically embarrassing conversation with a senior member of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party. Takis Baltakos, cabinet secretary and one of premier Antonis Samaras’s closest aides, [...]
Lawyers accuse FCA of breaking its own rules April 2, 2014 LAWYERS advising a top FTSE 100 insurer have advised that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) did break its own market abuse rules when it briefed a journalist on an investigation into insurance products last week. A review is now underway into the claims. The chancellor George Osborne is said to be concerned that the City watchdog [...]