M&S to open 150 new food stores creating over 5,000 new jobs October 22, 2013 Retailer Marks & Spencer has announced plans for 150 new franchise and owned UK Simply Food stores in the next three years in order "to further enhance its specialist food positioning and reduce drive times to access M&S Food". Roughly half of those stores will be of around 2,000 square feet and operated in convenience [...]
Awful jobs data sends US stocks to new records October 22, 2013 Markets are back to interpreting bad news as good, and good news as bad. With expectations that the Federal Reserve won't begin tapering pushed back until sometime in 2014, traders expect that poor economic news will keep Fed policy loose for longer – which is positive for equities. So really bad labour market data is [...]
One chart that shows how the federal shutdown hit the US economy October 22, 2013 Despite having avoided a US government default, the economic damage of the temporary October shutdown can't be so easily undone. We're beginning to see data releases for those weeks now, and they're beginning to reveal a grim economic picture. Betsey Stevenson of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers has pointed to this chart: We'll [...]
Co-op’s Len Wardle to quit as chairman of floundering lender October 22, 2013 Co-op's Len Wardle is to step down as chairman in May of next year, in the thick of a crisis which has seen the mutual lose majority ownership of its bank. (Release) The bank, which is set to be taken over by American hedge funds, saw Wardle quit the board last month. He has been [...]
Metrobank customer numbers surge as switching made easier October 22, 2013 Metrobank has reported record growth in its third-quarter financial statement. Customer account numbers have increased to 238,000, a rise of 75 per cent since the beginning of the year. The bank also saw total deposits have risen to £1.075bn, an increase of 24 per cent in the quarter, and an annual increase of 157 per [...]
US jobs number misses expectations but unlikely to affect Fed tapering decision October 22, 2013 We've finally seen a nonfarm payrolls (NFP) print after weeks of waiting. Delayed by the shutdown, the newest data shows weak job additions in September, with 148,000 jobs created. Consensus forecasts suggested that we'd see 180,000 jobs added. The unemployment rate falls from 7.3 to 7.2 per cent (the lowest since November 2008), with average [...]
Big six energy bosses called before MPs October 22, 2013 The chief executives of the big six energy firms have been called before the energy select committee on 29 October. Sir Robert Smith MP said in a statement that "the committee has today decided to call in the energy bosses in the context of the latest wave of price increases". MPs will grill bosses over [...]
Euro is “too German” says French industry minister October 22, 2013 Frustration over the current state of the Euro was given a voice on Tuesday, in the form of French industry minister, Arnaud Montebourg. In an interview with French newspaper Le Parisien, Montebourg said: The euro is too expensive, too strong and a little too German. It should be a little more Italian, French, and simply [...]
New sites to see Cineworld trump UK cinema market October 22, 2013 Cineworld plans to open up 25 new cinemas over the next four years, the group has said to Reuters. The British company is seeking to get the edge in the cinema market – the planned cinemas would topple market dominator Odeon. It currently has 101 sites, compared with competitor Odeon's 112 sites, and Vue's 80. [...]
EU launches second investigation involving Holcim deals October 22, 2013 The European Commission has launched an investigation into the planned acquisition of Cemex West by Swiss cement giant Holcim. The Commission is concerned that the deal may reduce competition in Germany and Belgium, where Cemex West is a competitor to Holcim. The Commission has until 10 March to make a decision. The planned transaction involved [...]