BT may roll out superfast internet June 17, 2009 BT is to examine expanding its superfast broadband network to cover 90 per cent of homes after ministers published plans to subsidise the roll-out of high-speed internet access across the country, the firm said yesterday.
Q & A : OBAMA’S REGULATORY PROPOSALS June 17, 2009 Q. WHAT IS THE KEY MEASURE?A. Perhaps the most radical reform is that the Federal Reserve will adopt the role of a systemic risk supervisor with responsibility for the oversight of large firms that could pose a threat to financial stability, even those which do not own banks. Q. HOW DO THE REFORMS AFFECT CAPITAL [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 17, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES FEDEX SWINGS TO FOURTH-QUARTER LOSSFedEx executives told investors they believed the worst of the economic downturn was behind them. The note of optimism came during an otherwise sobering review of the package-delivery company’s fiscal fourth quarter, during which its net loss widened from a year earlier on goodwill writedowns, and the company warned [...]
Premier Inn’s sales tumble June 16, 2009 WHITBREAD, Britain’s biggest hotel operator, yesterday blamed the worst hotel recession in three decades for a sharp fall in first quarter revenues at budget hotel chain Premier Inn. The group said Premier Inn’s like-for-like sales fell by 7.9 per cent, after revenue per available room (Revpar) slumped by 9.6 per cent. Chief executive Alan Parker [...]
Game Group benefits from flight to home entertainment June 16, 2009 VIDEO games retailer Game Group yesterday said its trading since the start of February was in line with company forecasts, thanks to an increase in the number of consumers staying at home in the downturn. “The overall trading performance for the group remains in line with the board’s expectations” the firm said in an update [...]
Mediation flourishing in downturn June 16, 2009 LORD Woolf reported an intriguing statistic this month when he said that mediation delivered “a £1bn cost-saving” a year for business by diverting cases from the courts. The former Lord Chief Justice added that commercial litigation costs UK Plc £33bn per year. An average case going through the courts costs £1m and consumes three years [...]
BOOST FOR HANDBAGS AND GLADRAGS June 16, 2009 ANGELA Ahrendts, the chief executive of Burberry, Britain’s largest luxury-goods company, yesterday said that the drop in demand for luxury goods was bottoming out. Ahrendts said: “Things are stabilising. They’re not getting any worse, they’re not getting significantly better.” Burberry last month fell to a full year loss after being forced to market its handbags [...]
Ted Baker confident on outlook June 16, 2009 Fashion brand Ted Baker said it was confident full-year results would be in line with expectations as it posted a 7.6 per cent increase in revenue for the 19 weeks to 12 June. The group said gross margins were also in line. But Seymour Pierce yesterday warned of tough times ahead: “As a retailer that [...]
Kesa nears 11m Swiss sell-off June 16, 2009 Kesa Electricals, Europe’s third-biggest electrical goods retailer, said yesterday it was close to selling its loss-making Swiss operation as its new chief executive moves to clean up its portfolio of businesses. The firm said it was in exclusive talks with Swiss electrical retailing chain FUST regarding the sale of its local business for about £11.4m.
House of Fraser denies sell off June 16, 2009 House of Fraser yesterday moved to quash market rumours that it was considering selling its stores and said it was trading ahead of expectations, with sales growing in the last 12 weeks. The group said it had no plans to sell any of its 62 stores and had sufficient capital “to meet all its obligations [...]