Tesco suspends Kevin Grace: Fifth executive leaves over £250m profit miss October 7, 2014 Tesco has suspended a fifth director over a shock discovery last month of an error in its accounts which meant first half profits were overstated by £250m. Kevin Grace, Tesco’s group commercial director, was asked on Monday to step aside as Deloitte and Freshfields carry out their investigation into what went wrong in Tesco’s accounts. [...]
Sainsbury’s #50pChallenge is a poster boy for its decline – Brand Index October 7, 2014 THESE are not happy times for Sainsbury’s. It became the brunt of many a joke when a poster meant for staff asking them to convince shoppers to spend an extra 50p on their visits was mistakenly displayed in a branch window. Photos of the poster went viral with the #50pChallenge hashtag. Discounter Lidl had a [...]
EE to launch its TV set-top box October 7, 2014 Britain’s biggest mobile operator EE is set to launch a TV set-top box this morning, in a bid to compete with YouView, BT and TalkTalk in the battle for the living room. EE’s set-top box is understood to offer all the Freeview channels, a range of on-demand and catch-up services, as well as the ability [...]
House prices to cool off after mortgage dip October 7, 2014 MORTGAGE lending fell significantly over the past three months, according to the Bank of England, suggesting the housing market will cool further. This is the first negative figure since the final three months of 2011 and marks a significant reversal in housing trends. House prices boomed over summer and are expected to grow 17 per [...]
London property prices rocket as red tape stops builders easing housing shortage October 7, 2014 It takes 25 weeks to get a major building project approved in London – almost twice the government’s target length of time, GL Hearn and the British Property Federation (BPF) said today. House prices have rocketed by around 20 per cent in the capital in the past year, in large part because of a lack [...]
Berkeley poaches Quintain’s finance chief October 7, 2014 Quintain’s finance director Richard Stearn will be swapping one FTSE 250 property company for another after being appointed yesterday to take up the same role at the Berkeley Group. Quintain said Stearn would leave the company “no later than no later than 3 April 2015” and join the housebuilder shortly after.
UK set to grow despite trouble in the Eurozone October 7, 2014 Economists at the International Monetary Fund yesterday maintained their view that the UK economy would grow 3.2 per cent in 2014 and 2.7 per cent in 2015. The IMF added that a Eurozone recession was now more likely, following poor data in Germany. Manufacturing increased 3.9 per cent on the year but still remained 4.4 [...]
German data stokes fears that country is sliding into recession October 7, 2014 FEAR over a possible recession is building in Germany after data released yesterday showed the nation’s industrial production plunged four per cent in August. This was far below expectations and was largely caused by a decline in manufacturing, which fell 4.8 per cent month-on-month. Germany looked to be in recovery at the start of the [...]
US lending data disappoints as Fed officials play down rate hike October 7, 2014 US CONSUMER credit failed to meet expectations for August and increased far less than expected, according to experts. Growth for July was also revised lower, the Federal Reserve said yesterday. The news will force economists in America to look on the pace of economic expansion with caution and has led to calls for the Fed [...]
CMC Markets to join rock ‘n’ roll royalty in The Sanctum Soho Hotel for 25th birthday October 7, 2014 The City doesn’t have a reputation for being overly rock ‘n’ roll, but it seems that Peter Cruddas’ CMC Markets has developed a penchant for one of London’s edgier hangouts – The Sanctum Soho Hotel – and it’s celebrating its 25th birthday there tomorrow night. The hotel is part-owned by the managers of Iron Maiden, [...]