The real casualties of the supermarket price wars April 16, 2014 The threat posed by the hard discounters on Britain’s big four retailers has been well documented. Tesco’s chief executive Philip Clarke today described his discount rivals as “formidable” as he announced further plans to slash prices beyond the £200m already set aside in February. But new research shows that the biggest unrecognised casualties of the [...]
Why Alibaba’s IPO will be the biggest tech float in history April 16, 2014 Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, is on track to reach a $188bn (£111.9bn) market valuation when it floats on the US stock market in coming weeks and is expected to raise $16bn, making it the biggest technology float in history. The debut, if it reaches IG’s grey market mid-point of trading, will surpass Facebook (which [...]
Larking about in New Covent Garden to promote Dot London April 16, 2014 A gaggle of business leaders including Deborah Meaden, Tech Hub’s Andrew Tibbitts and CEO of London & Partners Gordon Innes braved the chill at the New Covent Garden flower market this morning to bang the drum for Dot London. That's the new internet domain wiring its way to London businesses at the end of [...]
What you need to know before the US open April 16, 2014 US stock futures suggest a higher open for US markets, following European counterparts and after Yahoo’s reporting of earnings that beat estimates. The S&P 500 rose 0.7 per cent yesterday, with earnings from Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson outweighing fears around the Ukraine crisis. On the data front, housing starts rose 2.8 per cent last [...]
Bankers are getting out of the casino game, but not in the way you might think April 16, 2014 Deutsche Bank could be looking to dispose some gambling property, according to reports. But we're not referring to typical "casino banking" here. Instead, Deutsche is preparing for the sale of some more traditional gambling properties. We're talking about the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Resort – an establishment famously marketed as doing "just the right amount of [...]
Co-op’s Paul Flowers charged with drugs offences April 16, 2014 The former chairman of the Co-op bank, Paul Flowers, has been charged with offences over class A and class C drugs. Flowers held the role until last summer, when it was alleged by the Mail on Sunday that he had been using illegal narcotics, including crystal meth. It was revealed in January that Flowers had [...]
Eurozone inflation confirmed at 0.5pc as pressure piles on Draghi April 16, 2014 The shock fall seen in Eurozone inflation in March has been confirmed this morning. A final revision of Eurozone inflation for March has come in at 0.5 per cent – confirming the four-year low preliminary reading and stoking concerns that the economic area could slip into deflation, as disinflation continues. Below the European Central Bank [...]
How your train fare’s helping the government cut its rail subsidies April 16, 2014 BRITAIN’S railways are being funded increasingly by passengers as the government trims back its subsidies. In the last financial year, customers stumped up £7.7bn, or 59.2 per cent of the network’s £12.3bn running costs, or even more if you include the £700m paid out in parking charges. The Office of Rail Regulation said this increase, [...]
Wage growth is back with a bang as unemployment falls below 7pc April 16, 2014 Perhaps finally an ease to consumer budgets, and a chance that the "cost of living crisis" meme may start to fade away. For the first time since July 2009, the Office for National Statistics' measure of average earnings growth may now exceed headline inflation. Yesterday saw headline consumer price inflation fall to a four and [...]
Embattled insurer RSA’s UK and Western Europe boss quits April 16, 2014 RSA Insurance's attempts to renew itself continue. The insurer announced the "agreed resignation" of its UK and Western Europe CEO Adrian Brown this morning. That sees Brown resign from the board, but continuing in his executive role until a successor is found. Brown's final departure date is expected to be somewhere in the second half [...]