Goldman Sachs’ share of new female partners steadies November 12, 2014 Investment bank Goldman Sachs yesterday revealed it had appointed 78 new partners, bringing the total number of partners to 467, or about 1.6 per cent of total current headcount. Women make up 11 of the 78, up slightly from the 10 women in 2012, but flat proportion-wise at 14 per cent of the intake. Meanwhile, [...]
Welcome news for workers as wage growth outpaces inflation for first time since 2009 November 12, 2014 WAGES have beaten inflation for the first time in five years, official data revealed yesterday. Regular pay – which excludes bonuses – was 1.3 per cent higher in the three months to September than it was in the same period a year ago. With annual consumer price inflation down to 1.2 per cent, it marked [...]
Window cleaners rescued in New York November 12, 2014 NEW YORK firefighters rescued two window cleaners whose equipment collapsed and became stuck 69 storeys above the ground at One World Trade Center yesterday. The two men scrambled to safety through a hole cut in the glass after dangling for two hours alongside the city’s tallest skyscraper. The 1,776ft tower, built at the site of [...]
Burberry 2014 Christmas campaign launched as profits hurt by foreign exchange loss November 12, 2014 Burberry yesterday brushed off concerns over foreign exchange movements, saying it expected the effects to wear off in the next six months after taking its toll on first-half profit. The luxury fashion group posted a six per cent rise in underlying profit to £152m in the six months to 30 September. But [...]
Confidence in Ed Miliband hits rock bottom as Labour leader prepares for key speech November 12, 2014 A mere 13 per cent of the public think Ed Miliband is cut out to be the next Prime Minister, a further crushing blow to the Labour leader following a week of unrest and infighting within his party. The polling, published as Miliband seeks to galvanise his MPs with a speech about his values in London [...]
Sainsbury’s to slash prices as profits plunge November 12, 2014 SAINSBURY’S boss Mike Coupe said yesterday that the retailer was “taking the fight to the enemy” as he unveiled plans to cut costs and its dividend to fund a £150m price offensive against its discount supermarket rivals. The grocer’s nine-year run of uninterrupted sales growth came to a grinding halt this year as changing shopping [...]
Analyst Views: What do you think of the strategy announced by Sainsbury’s? November 12, 2014 NICLA DI PALMA | BREWIN DOLPHIN What disappoints us is that management did not take a more aggressive stance with closing underperforming stores. Instead, Coupe will try to increase the non-food offer and possibly introduce some concessions. Management is loath to shrink, although we believe they could have taken the extra step. DARREN SHIRLEY | [...]
WH Smith takes a hit on High St November 12, 2014 STATIONERY group WH Smith said sales in the first 10 weeks of its fiscal year were flat after a strong performance across its travel business was offset by sluggish high street sales. The retailer’s travel arm saw a seven per cent jump in sales in the period to 8 November as it launched new stores [...]
Sales jump at Card Factory November 12, 2014 CARD Factory was the bearer of good news yesterday as the greetings card specialist posted an 8.7 per cent jump in sales over the past nine months. The retailer, which floated in April, said a combination of new store openings, its online expansion and good growth at existing stores had helped boost its performance in [...]
Inflation set to stay low for up to three years November 12, 2014 THE BANK of England (BoE) yesterday shifted its expectations of a first rate hike to late 2015 as it forecast inflation to stay below target until 2017. The UK’s economic growth was predicted to slow in 2015 to 2.9 per cent after forecasting 3.5 per cent growth for the whole of 2014. Weak growth in [...]