US retail sales unexpectedly slump by 0.9 per cent in December January 14, 2015 US retail sales unexpectedly slumped by 0.9 per cent in December, marking its biggest drop in nearly a year. The decline was broad-based with nine out of 13 sectors posting a decline, the Commerce Department said. This came despite a perceived boost to the consumer from falling oil prices and a healthy jobs market. Core [...]
Waitrose pulls a Christmas cracker with festive sales January 14, 2015 Things may be bleak for the big four supermarkets, but for the smaller, challenger, businesses initial signs are that Christmas was a real cracker. Waitrose has topped off a strong year, in which it had grown market share to five per cent by December, according to its Christmas figures published today. The John [...]
Barclays appoints former Bank of America executive as chief operating officer January 14, 2015 Barclays has called upon a former senior executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch to step into the role of chief operating officer. Jonathan Moulds will join the British bank in February in a role that has remained vacantsince Jerry del Missier walked away amid an interest-rate rigging scandal in 2012. Antony Jenkins, Barclays [...]
JPMorgan’s fourth quarter blighted by $1bn forex fine January 14, 2015 JPMorgan Chase's fourth quarter earnings have been hit by nearly $1bn (£656m) of legal costs relating to the forex scandal. The bank would have reported an annual increase in net income of more than $500m (£328m) if it had not been for the fees. Instead it was down 6.6 per cent. The figures [...]
Standard & Poor’s cuts Tesco to junk January 14, 2015 Standard & Poor's (S&P) today downgraded Tesco to junk status, suggesting the ratings agency is unconvinced by the turnaround strategy unveiled by new chief executive Dave Lewis last week. The grocer's senior long-term credit rating was lowered to BB+ from BBB-. It is unlikely to go any lower than this however, with S&P saying the [...]
No snow, but Met Office puts weather warnings in place for Greater London, Kent, Oxfordshire and West Sussex January 14, 2015 London might not be getting any snow this week, but the Met Office has put out warnings that heavy rain and wind could lead to localised flooding and travel disruption. The UK's weather authority has put severe weather warnings in place for Greater London, Kent, Oxfordshire, West Sussex, Portsmouth and Southampton, saying affected areas [...]
Tesco’s share price nears pre-overstatement level for the first time in four months January 14, 2015 Tesco's share price is nearing the level it was before the supermarket admitting to overstating its profits in September, thanks to a sustained rally in the last month. Shares in the UK's largest retailer have risen more than 30 per cent since mid-December and at pixel time this morning the business was up 2.1 [...]
ECJ deals bitter blow to Addison Lee as black cabs retain exclusive right to bus lanes January 14, 2015 London's black cabs have retained the exclusive right to share the capital's bus lanes as a result of a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Eventech, the owner of a minicab fleet used by Addison Lee, brought the case to the ECJ after losing at the High Court. The company decided to fight [...]
Cineworld expects Bond and Star Wars to deliver blockbuster box office in 2015 January 14, 2015 Cineworld is expecting a blockbuster year in 2015 thanks to a slate of forthcoming films that includes new installments to the iconic James Bond, Star Wars and Jurassic Park franchises. The cinema chain foresees a strong a year ahead to follow what was a successful year in 2014. In a trading update Cineworld [...]
Eurozone industrial production beats forecasts in November January 14, 2015 There's finally some good news from the embattled Eurozone, after its factories posted a surprise increase in output. Eurozone industrial production climbed 0.2 per cent in November, defying economists' forecasts for no growth. Industrial production was just 0.4 per cent lower than a year ago, which beat economist' estimates of a 0.7 per cent decline. [...]