First fall in jobless total since 2007 January 20, 2010 THE number of people out of work in the UK has fallen for the first time in 18 months, official figures indicated yesterday. There were 2.46m unemployed people in November, down from 2.49m the previous month. This puts the unemployment rate at 7.8 per cent, down from 7.9 per cent, according to the Office of [...]
Bank’s MPC unites on vote to maintain rates at record low January 20, 2010 THE MPC voted unanimously to hold interest rates at 0.5 per cent and to leave its quantitative easing (QE) target at £200bn at its meeting earlier this month. The unity, revealed in the minutes of the January meeting released yesterday, was widely expected. Although consumer prices surged to 2.9 per cent in December, the Bank [...]
Government wasted hundreds of millions on training places, MPs say January 20, 2010 THE government wasted hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer money to fund training places that employers would have stumped up for, according to an influential group of MPs. In a highly critical report published today, the public accounts committee will say that the government’s Train to Gain programme has been “mismanaged from the outset”. [...]
Wolseley duo to return with a breakfast pad on city doorstep January 20, 2010 RESTAURATEURS Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, owners of the Wolseley, have managed to keep this extraordinarily quiet, but word reaches The Capitalist that they’re in the early stages of launching another power breakfast hotspot right on the City’s doorstep. Rex Restaurants has long been enjoying the spoils of the Wolseley’s popularity with just about everyone [...]
Surprise drop in unemployment figures January 20, 2010 THE number of people out of work in the UK has fallen for the first time in 18 months, official figures show today. There were 2.46m unemployed people in November, down from 2.49m the previous month. This puts the unemployment rate at 7.8 per cent, down from 7.9 per cent, according to the Office of [...]
Bank of America posts loss after repaying bailout January 20, 2010 BANK of America has posted a quarterly loss and its first full-year deficit in more than 20 years after repaying US bailout money and defaults on consumer loans. The fourth-quarter loss including the cost of exiting the Troubled Asset Relief Program widened to $5.2bn (£3.2bn) or 60 cents a share, from $2.4bn, or 48 cents, [...]
Comet in festive sales slump January 19, 2010 COMET dragged down sales at parent company Kesa as the electrical store failed beat off its rivals over Christmas. Like-for-like sales dropped by 3.9 per cent at Comet between 1 November and 8 January. Kesa’s overall sales fall was limited to 0.3 per cent after growth in its international businesses. Comet’s performance was overshadowed by [...]
Eurostar sees record ticket sales January 19, 2010 TICKET sales and passenger numbers at Eurostar edged up to a new record last year despite a series of breakdowns which left thousands of passengers stranded in the Channel Tunnel. Sales at Eurostar reached £675.5m – up 1.7 per cent on 2008. The company took £675.5m while passenger numbers rose 1.2 per cent to 9.2m. [...]
Kraft goes on a charm offensive January 19, 2010 KRAFT chairman Irene Rosenfeld is planning a charm offensive to persuade doubters that the US takeover of iconic chocolate giant Cadbury will be a good thing for the UK. Her first task will be to woo Legal & General (L&G), Cadbury’s second-largest shareholder, which sent out a combative message yesterday. L&G slammed the £11.7bn offer [...]
UK Mail posts rise in revenues January 19, 2010 ROYAL Mail rival UK Mail reported a rise in revenues for the last three months of 2009. Revenues rose 4 per cent compared to the same period last year. UK Mail’s chief executive Guy Buswell said a rise in marketing companies sending junk mail had driven sales in its business post operations. Strike action by [...]