THE LADIES OF THREADNEEDLE STREET July 23, 2009 THE female-dominated staff of Maurice Turnor Gardner (MTG), comprised of heavyweight lawyers made redundant from “magic circle” law firm Allen & Overy (A&O), sets up shop today at new City headquarters. The team has opened an office at 1 Threadneedle Street, after working out of A&O’s offices since setting the firm up four months ago. [...]
CITY VIEWS: HAS THE CAR SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PROVED TO BE AN EFFECTIVE INITIATIVE? July 23, 2009 DANIEL NOYCE OCE“ It’s a genius idea by the chancellor as it creates more revenue for the Treasury. They recoup more than £2,000 on car taxes etc, and all under the pretext of stimulating the economy. But it also raises questions over scrapping cars for the sake of it.” PHIL HEALY WILLIS“I think that it [...]
Carphone gets a boost from iPhone rush July 23, 2009 SHARES in Carphone Warehouse lifted yesterday after the company said that first quarter trading was in-line with expectations, and that revenues in its retail business had been boosted by the popularity of the iPhone. Europe’s biggest mobile phone retailer said that revenue at Best Buy Europe – its joint venture with US firm Best Buy [...]
Capita profits from outsourcing boom July 23, 2009 CAPITA reported an 18 per cent rise in first-half profits yesterday as it benefited from government and companies outsourcing to cut costs. The group reported a pre-tax profit of £141.7m, on the back of an 11 per cent rise in revenues to £1.31bn. The results came in below analysts’ expectations, but chief executive Paul Pindar [...]
DMGT AD SLUMP SLOWING July 23, 2009 DAILY Mail & General Trust (DMGT) said yesterday that the decline in advertising revenue at its titles slowed during the three months to the end of June, but that forward visibility remained low. National newspaper ad revenues fell 12 per cent, while regional newspaper ad revenues fell 33 per cent.
Compass warns on sales growth July 23, 2009 Compass, the world’s largest caterer, said yesterday that sales growth slowed in the third quarter and looked set to weaken further, meaning it had to rely on cost cuts and sterling’s weakness to help maintain strong profit growth. Shares in Compass fell as analysts said the sales figures were worse than they had been expecting, [...]
Desmond loses libel case July 23, 2009 Richard Desmond, the owner of Express Newspapers, yesterday lost his libel case against author Tom Bower. Desmond claimed that Bower defamed him in a biography of Canadian tycoon Conrad Black, the former Telegraph boss, and had damaged his business reputation. But a High Court jury returned a majority verdict rejecting his claim.
Rail network to be electrified July 23, 2009 The government yesterday unveiled plans to spend £1.1bn to electrify more of its rail network, helping to cut carbon emissions and speed up journeys. Only a third of Britain’s rail network is currently electrified, far less than other European countries. The government said the proposals would help employment and industry including tourism and freight, boosting [...]
Lonmin rebuilds while sales fall July 23, 2009 Lonmin, the world’s third-biggest platinum producer, posted a one per cent fall in third-quarter refined platinum sales and said its troublesome number one furnace would need another rebuild. Lonmin, which has a history of problems with processing, said it restarted the furnace on 15 July after a 30-day shutdown, but slag leaks occurred.
Hot weather adds sizzle to retail sales July 23, 2009 UNUSUALLY hot weather and aggressive discounting by retailers fuelled a surge in retail sales last month, official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed yesterday. Figures from the ONS revealed that total retail sales rose by 1.2 per cent in June on the previous month, putting the annual rise on a seasonally-adjusted basis [...]