TOPPS SALES DROP EASES May 27, 2009 TOPPS Tiles yesterday said its rate of sales decline slowed in the early weeks of its second half. It it said sales at stores open more than a year fell 11.9 percent in the first seven weeks of its second half, less than the 18.5 percent slump seen in the 26 weeks to March 28. [...]
Monte Carlo or BUST May 27, 2009 IT’S 4am in one of Monte Carlo’s less glamorous casinos. A few late-night gamblers mill around, but the room is mostly dead – apart from in one corner, where three poker tables are still full. Among the grizzled professionals, a man in a white T-shirt stands up tiredly. That’s Nelly, superstar rapper and megalodon of [...]
Global air traffic up for April May 27, 2009 There were signs of green shoots for the airline industry last month, as air-traffic figures showed signs of improvement. But the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said yesterday that it didn’t mean a recovery was imminent. Passenger demand in April fell 3.1 per cent year-on-year, a massive improvement on March’s 11.1 per [...]
Emerging private equity plunges May 27, 2009 Private equity activity in emerging markets has plunged by 60 per cent since the credit crunch took hold, according to a study by accountancy giant Deloitte and Arbor Square Associates. The first quarter of 2009 saw just 51 private equity deals take place in emerging countries, compared to 128 deals in the third quarter of [...]
EUROPEAN POKER TOUR FINAL THE FACTS May 27, 2009 &9679; The PokerStars European Poker Tour Grand Final was eventually won by 26-year-old Dutch player Pieter de Korver. &9679; De Korver took home €2.3m, beating 934 other players in the process. &9679; The tournament’s total prize pool came to €9.35m, making it the richest tournament ever staged outside Las Vegas. &9679; There was also a [...]
Jessops woes back in focus May 27, 2009 PHOTOGRAPHIC retailer Jessops yesterday saw its stock plunge 63 per cent after shareholders were warned they would probably end up with nothing, as the company battles falling sales and its debt pile. The company reported half-year pre-tax losses of £6.3m for the six months to 31 March, while like-for-like sales were down 4.4 per cent. [...]
MOVING FROM ONLINE TO LIVE POKER TOP TIPS May 27, 2009 &9679; If you’ve learned your poker by playing online, stepping into a card room for the first time can be daunting. The first thing to adjust to is the pace of the game – things happen much more slowly, but this gives you more opportunity to gather information. &9679; Watch like a hawk. In online [...]
Howard’s way wasn’t good enough for Sir Alan May 27, 2009 PICTURE the scene: Sir Alan, curtains drawn, feet up, one hand in a family pack of Monster Munch, the other flicking between home shopping channels, looking for a pair of diamonique earrings for his good lady wife. Yes, this week, he got his teams time on some sub-QVC teleshopping channel, shifting tomorrow’s charity shop donations [...]
IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR JESSOPS AFTER THE STOCK NOSEDIVE? May 27, 2009 KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWN“It’s a difficult place to be and the group’s £60m debt position has made life particularly difficult for it. Competition from online retailers has also dented the group’s trading. Yesterday’s comments from the board on the value of shares obviously provoked aggressive action from shareholders.” NICK BUBB PALI INTERNATIONAL“The group has suffered [...]
Value lines lift Northern Food’s sales May 27, 2009 A SURGE in demand for value lines helped Northern Foods beat market expectations for full year sales yesterday. But the group’s pre-tax profit still fell 5.4 per cent to £47.5m from £50.1m the year before due to restructuring costs. And it warned on future trading due to the rising price of ingredients and pressure from [...]