Vinyl revival prompts a boom in turntable sales for John Lewis May 5, 2015 Once seen as the domain of DJs and Hackney hipsters, the humble record has returned to its former glory as a mainstream trend. Past predictions that vinyl would go the way of the cassette tape have proved incorrect, according to John Lewis, which has reported a 240 per cent increase in turntables in 2015. The [...]
Sainsbury’s braced for first loss in a decade as supermarkets move to downsize May 5, 2015 Battling with excess space and a revival at Tesco, Sainsbury’s is having to fight harder than ever. It is early on a weekday morning, and the first wave of customers are yet to arrive at Sainsbury’s revamped store in Wandsworth – its aisles stacked high with everything from garden furniture to Le Creuset-style saucepans [...]
WorleyParsons axes 2,000 jobs and cuts hours in face of oil price slide May 4, 2015 WorleyParsons, Australia’s largest oil services business, yesterday announced it was cutting 2,000 jobs and reducing work due to falling commodity prices. The firm, which has operations throughout the UK and the rest of Europe, forecast second-half earnings will fall about 50 per cent from the first half of the year. The Sydney-based company said that [...]
Professional job vacancies soar as pay climbs in “further positive indicator of economic confidence” May 4, 2015 The professional jobs market has brushed off the UK economy’s weak start to the year, according to figures released today by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (Apsco) . Permanent openings for lawyers, accountants and engineers climbed 20 per cent in April compared with the same month last year. Demand is highest for engineers where [...]
Rising demand drives up total construction sector turnover May 4, 2015 UK construction firms saw a sharp rise in turnover last year, according to figures released today by BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions. Total turnover of the construction sector jumped six per cent year-on-year to £218bn in 2014. It is now 20.7 per cent above the low reached in the 2009-10 recession of £180bn. The surge in [...]
Monthly spare cash now £311 for Londoners as disposable income rises May 4, 2015 Londoners have £311 available to spend after paying for bills and essentials each month, according a report yesterday by financial services group Scottish Friendly. This amounts to 10 per cent of average London pay, an increase on the first three months of the year, when disposable income was at 9.1 per cent of income. Across [...]
PwC to ditch A-level requirements to reach students from “wider pockets of society” May 4, 2015 Graduates will no longer need spotless A-level grades to land a job at accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The firm, one of the biggest graduate employers in the country, argued that by using Ucas points (a measure of a secondary school student's qualifications) to screen applicants, it was missing out on recruits from more disadvantaged backgrounds. [...]
Tidjane Thiam will be replaced by Mike Wells as Prudential chief exec May 1, 2015 Prudential has found its successor for departing chief executive Tidjane Thiam – and they haven't had to look too far. Mike Wells, head of the company's US arm Jackson National Life, will step into the role vacated by the popular Thiam, who is leaving to head up Credit Suisse. The 55-year-old will replace a resoundingly popular [...]
Rob Terry-backed broker Daniel Stewart’s shares suspended for a second time May 1, 2015 Shares in Daniel Stewart, the broker backed by Rob Terry, have been suspended for a second time after its in-house broker Westhouse Securities quit last month. The Aim-listed broker, which acts as a nominated adviser to other companies which want to join the Aim market, only had its shares restored earlier this month ending a five-month suspension [...]
Here are the most expensive places to rent outside of London May 1, 2015 A short supply of housing means London is becoming ever more crowded, which is stretching resources, pushing up prices, and prompting people to move further out. But before you make the leap into a cosy commuter town, it isn't necessarily any better elsewhere, as rents are still pretty high and you'll have to pay through [...]