French Connection boss upbeat on future as retailer cuts losses March 12, 2014 FRENCH Connection boss Stephen Marks said yesterday that the retailer has reached “the tipping point” at which it could become a successful business again, as turnaround efforts helped it to cut full-year losses. The fashion brand reported an underlying pre-tax loss of £4.4m in the year to the end of January but this was an [...]
Clarke admits Tesco must fix image problem March 12, 2014 TESCO boss Philip Clarke admitted yesterday that the grocer and the retail industry had an “image problem” but said he was “determined to provoke a reappraisal” of Britain’s biggest supermarket. Speaking at the Retail Week Live conference, he played down a fall in its market share revealed by Kantar, arguing the industry was going through [...]
LSE’s summer stock-buster is arriving soon March 12, 2014 IF YOU loved Oscar-winning space-epic Gravity and you’re looking for your next dose of the galaxy, we might have just the thing. The London Stock Exchange has enlisted the help of Framestore, the Soho-based visual effects company that worked on Gravity, to update its market opening sequence. The current ceremony is already pretty high-tech – forget [...]
Fabricant radiates as Goldilocks at the Parliamentary Variety gig March 12, 2014 THE raw talents of MPs and Peers were flaunted last night as the annual Parliamentary Palace of Varieties, in aid of Macmillan Cancer, descended on Park Lane’s Intercontinental Hotel. Michael Fabricant stole the show, proving there’s room for more than one blonde bombshell prone to buffoonery in the Tory Party (as Boris settled back in [...]
Eurozone chiefs brush off Spain deflation fears March 12, 2014 EUROZONE central bankers queued up yesterday to insist that the currency bloc is not being hit by deflation, despite fears over price levels in Spain. The Mediterranean state posted no change in its consumer price index in February compared to a year earlier, with its central bank governor saying inflation is likely to be limited [...]
Britain tops European broadband league as average speed doubles March 12, 2014 BRITAIN has marched ahead of its European tech rivals with the lowest number of non-internet users and the highest take up of broadband, according to Ofcom’s second European Broadband Scorecard. The average home broadband speed has doubled in less than two years, reaching nearly 18 megabits per second (Mbps), putting the UK ahead of Germany, [...]
Praet hints at further ECB action March 12, 2014 EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) board member Peter Praet said yesterday that the organisation was ready to use “various non-standard measures” to return to price stability, despite inaction this month. Praet also revealed that he leans towards publishing minutes of ECB board meetings, but without members’ names included.
Ferrexpo set to ramp up output as earnings rise March 12, 2014 IRON ore producer Ferrexpo yesterday beat forecasts with a 25 per cent rise in earnings and said it plans to ramp up production this year, assuaging concerns about unrest in Ukraine, where it operates. The FTSE 250-quoted firm said it had issued a special dividend of 6.6 cents (4p) per share “in recognition of the [...]
Opec raises its 2014 oil demand outlook as economy recovers March 12, 2014 THE ORGANISATION of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) yesterday raised its forecast for oil demand growth in 2014 for the second month in a row. Opec, which accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s oil supply and represents 12 countries, has revised its forecast by 50,000 barrels per day to 1.14m barrels of oil [...]
Hochschild cancels dividend as low metal prices smash results March 12, 2014 HOCHSCHILD Mining, the precious metals explorer, yesterday confirmed that it had cancelled its dividend as low commodities prices caused it to swing into a loss. The FTSE 250-quoted company, which set out a plethora of cost cuts last year, reported a loss from continuing operations of $42.1m (£25.4m), down 113 per cent from 2012. Adjusted [...]