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 [...]
Tesco upbeat as sales meet expectations June 16, 2009 TESCO, Britain’s largest retailer, yesterday said it had made a “solid start” to the year, reporting a 4.3 per cent rise in first quarter like-for-like sales at its UK stores. The giant supermarket chain reported a higher sales lift for the 13 weeks ending 30 May than it did in the previous quarter, but its [...]
DOES TESCO’S FIRST QUARTER GROWTH MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS? June 16, 2009 RICHARD HUNTER HARGREAVES LANSDOWN“The headlines have tended to centre on Tesco’s loss of market share, as opposed to the progress it is making. Its international businesses in particular continue to bolster overall performance, contributing a 20 per cent rise in sales over the period. But the growing intensity of competition is not likely to abate.” [...]
China offers $10bn loan to its key allies June 16, 2009 CHINA will offer a $10bn (£6bn) credit loan to Russia and other key allies to help them through the financial crisis, Chinese President Hu Jintao said yesterday. Speaking at a summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, Jintao said China would provide monetary aid to Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, who are all members [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 16, 2009 REED ELSEVIERPanmure Gordon retained its “buy” rating on Reed Elsevier after an update call with the company. It said that the shares have been disconcertingly weak recently but that this is understandable in view of the weak dollar. The broker leaves its core assumptions unchanged, forecasting earnings per share growth year-on-year. SERCOSerco’s shares have rallied [...]
Bank of Japan sees recession easing June 16, 2009 THE RATE of deterioration in the Japanese economy has begun to slow, the country’s central bank said yesterday, signalling that the worst of its recession could be over. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) opted to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.1 per cent, but issued a more optimistic outlook based on increased production in the [...]
GLORY DAYS FOR ROYAL ASCOT CITY RACING SET June 16, 2009 IT WAS smiles all round for the property world’s keenest racegoers yesterday, as a group of City real estate heavyweights toasted a win (and a hefty £167,472 prize pot) for their horse Paco Boy in the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot. I hear Parkwood Property Investments partner Derek Lucie-Smith, one of the owners, was in [...]
Huge demand for gilts sale led by banks June 16, 2009 THE DEBT Management Office (DMO) raised a greater-than-expected £7bn in a syndicated sale of 25-year gilts yesterday, easing fears of a lack of investor enthusiasm for British government debt. The DMO took orders for £15.25bn worth of gilts, making the sale by far the most popular syndicated sale of sovereign debt in history. Yields on [...]
BA turbulence as staff asked to work for free June 16, 2009 THERE was further turbulence at British Airways (BA) yesterday after the airline asked its 40,000-strong staff to work without pay, as the company “fights for survival”. The flag carrier is desperately seeking to cut costs, having made record losses of £401m for 2008. Airlines across the globe are struggling as they deal with a slump [...]
If you want a good quality of life, Helsinki’s your city June 16, 2009 YESZOE STRIMPEL THAT London hasn’t made it into the top 50 places to live in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability survey doesn’t surprise me. These types of lists are compiled using utterly colourless criteria that bear little relation to what makes life worth living. Admittedly, Helsinki, Vienna and Zurich (all in the top 10) are [...]