Tesco, Asda and Morrisons named Christmas losers by Kantar as Waitrose, the Co operative, Aldi and Lidl crowned the winners January 12, 2016 There was little Christmas cheer for the supermarket sector – but some individual grocers outperformed the wider market, Kantar Worldpanel said this morning. The sector as a whole fell 0.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 3 January, with Asda dropping the furthest – consumer spend at the Walmart-owned retailer was down 3.5 per cent. Tesco [...]
Boohoo’s share price climbs as it ups guidance after sales soar January 12, 2016 Boohoo has raised its revenue guidance for the financial year as its sales soared 45 per cent in the four months to 31 December. The figures Boohoo has had a very strong period, with revenues up 45 per cent in the UK, 33 per cent in Europe and 52 per cent in the rest of the [...]
Landslide in Barnehurst brings Southeastern trains to a halt January 12, 2016 A landslide at Barnehurst last night has brought Southeastern services between Dartford and London to a halt. The train operator said this morning there was no service running between Dartford and Lewisham via Bexleyheath, meaning trains were not running to London Charing Cross and Cannon Street this morning. Some trains will be diverted via Sidcup or Woolwich [...]
Morrisons’s share price soars 10 per cent as supermarket returns to growth after 16 quarters of decline January 12, 2016 Morrisons's share price soared 10 per cent this morning after posting better-than-expected Christmas results, as it starts to win back customers. The figures Like-for-likes excluding fuel were up 0.2 per cent for the nine weeks to 3 January – its first quarterly growth in 16 quarters – while total sales excluding fuel were down 1.2 per cent. This [...]
Debenhams’ share price leaps 15 per cent as it shrugs off winter blues to deliver solid Christmas results January 12, 2016 Debenhams' share price leapt 15 per cent this morning, as the struggling department store shrugged off the winter blues plaguing other retailers to beat expectations for the 19 weeks to 9 January. The figures The department store has grown like-for-likes 3.5 per cent on a constant currency basis, or 1.9 per cent as reported, while gross [...]
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and former model Jerry Hall announce engagement (in The Times, obviously) January 12, 2016 Media magnate Rupert Murdoch and former model Jerry Hall have announced their engagement at the ripe ages of 84 and 59 respectively. The announcement of their engagement was printed in the births, marriages and deaths section of The Times newspaper, which Murdoch's company News UK owns. "Mr Rupert Murdoch, father of Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan, James, Grace and Chloe Murdoch, [...]
City Moves for 12 January 2016 | Who’s switching jobs January 12, 2016 RPC Consulting Chris Carson has joined RPC Consulting – the insurance consultancy arm of RPC – as a partner from PwC. Chris has over 28 years’ experience in the insurance sector and while at PwC, he led the Big Four accountancy firm’s insurance advisory practice across EMEA. Chris has worked at board level with Direct [...]
Virtually there: How VR will change the workplace January 12, 2016 Like driverless cars, virtual reality has been a long time coming. With its origins in the sixteenth century, virtual reality (VR) techniques were once limited to theatrical trickery and the “girl-to-gorilla” variety illusions found in carnival sideshows. But with Oculus Rift on sale from March, the technology may finally be entering the mainstream. With psychiatrists [...]
Tube strikes: The unions are harming London and the low paid by striking over Night Tube January 12, 2016 When Mike Brown was confirmed as London’s new transport commissioner last September, he might have expected to find a note from his predecessor stating bluntly: “Dear commissioner, I’m afraid there is no money”. While most of the UK economy has adapted to the realities of modern-day austerity, however, the transport unions are apparently yet to [...]
Oil rout, shambolic Chinese regulators, and Apple analyst misses: Why don’t we ignore Week One and start again? January 12, 2016 Oh what japes, and that was only the first week back at work this year. But did we learn anything useful from the first five days of trading? Possibly, but has anyone come out of week one with any credit or stood out as a visionary amid the chaos? Not that I can see, I’m [...]