Union warns that 7,000 Cadbury jobs under threat January 13, 2010 UNION leaders have warned that up to 7,000 jobs could be lost if Kraft’s hostile bid for chocolate maker Cadbury is successful. Unite claim Kraft’s £22bn of debt would put the company under pressure and lead to jobs being axed. The union has issued a briefing to Cadbury investors asking them to put the wider [...]
Matalan auction boosted by Xmas sales January 12, 2010 FASHION and homewares retailer Matalan has boosted its £1.5bn auction by revealing further strong growth over the Christmas period. The group revealed that like-for-like sales rose 13.7 per cent in the five weeks to 2 January. The upbeat trading statement came despite tough comparatives with positive trading figures seen a year earlier. Five private equity [...]
Greggs in slim sales rise after mince pie bonanza January 12, 2010 BAKERY chain Greggs sold more than a million mince pies a week over the festive period helping to give it an overall sales lift. Comparative sales during the four weeks to December 26 grew 1.1 per cent with a “very strong performance” in the Christmas week with a 4.4 per cent improvement. But the company [...]
Start-ups hit by global recession January 12, 2010 THE number of new businesses being set up around the world has dipped in the global recession, a report has revealed. Start-ups were down 10 per cent down last year in 20 of the world’s richest nations, according to the annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). It found that the decline was the most severe in [...]
RBS boss: My parents think I’m overpaid January 12, 2010 ROYAL Bank of Scotland’s chief executive yesterday admitted his parents think he is paid too much even as he staged a staunch defence of the bank’s right to hand out bonuses. Stephen Hester, who stands to make £10m if he can turn around the beleaguered lender, signalled he understood public anger over bumper payouts following [...]
Wall Street levy to raise $100bn January 12, 2010 THE Obama administration could net more than $100bn (£62bn) with its planned special levy on Wall Street’s giants, it emerged yesterday. Officials are mulling a levy on America’s top banks to tap into anti-Wall Street sentiment ahead of the earnings season. The scheme has yet to be officially confirmed but is being spun as a [...]
SEC sues BoA over Merrill January 12, 2010 The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday sued Bank of America for a second time over its takeover of Merrill Lynch, accusing the bank of failing to disclose huge losses at Merrill before shareholders voted on the merger. The SEC filed its civil lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court, a day after a judge [...]
UK Plc has much to learn from Tesco January 12, 2010 NAPOLEON Bonaparte was right: Britain is a nation of shopkeepers. Tesco’s great figures yesterday confirm that the retailer remains one of the UK’s few truly world-class corporate giants. Group sales increased by 7.5 per cent at constant exchange rates and like-for-like UK sales (ex-fuel and adjusted for Vat) were up by 4.9 per cent in [...]
King quiet until election January 12, 2010 BANK of England governor Mervyn King will hold off criticising the government in the run-up to the general election, it was reported yesterday. The former LSE professor is expected to maintain a ceasefire until polling day amid concerns his opposition to Treasury policies has handed political ammunition to the Conservative party. King first caused controversy [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 12, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES MAN AND RHEINMETALL MERGE MILITARY VEHICLE UNITS Man, the truck maker, and Rheinmetall, the automotive and defence company, are to merge their military wheeled vehicle businesses, potentially kicking off a limited but long-awaited consolidation in the overcrowded European land systems sector. Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles will eventually have about 1,300 employees and revenues [...]