Burberry shares lift the FTSE as luxury sales beat forecasts January 15, 2014 BURBERRY was the second highest riser on the FTSE yesterday after the luxury retailer revealed better-than-expected sales, driven by Asia Pacific and demand ahead of Chinese New Year. Shares closed 4.7 per cent higher as the 158 year-old firm posted a 14 per cent rise in sales to £528m and a 12 per cent increase [...]
Yahoo exec to leave in shock announcement January 15, 2014 YAHOO’S chief operating officer Henrique de Castro has announced that he will leave the company today, after about a year in the job. Yahoo did not give a reason for the abrupt departure of the high-profile executive that chief executive officer Marissa Mayer poached from Google shortly after she took the helm. At the time [...]
Apple to refund $32.5m of kids’ in-app sprees January 15, 2014 TECHNOLOGY giant Apple will refund around £20m worth of in-app purchases made by children without their parent’s permission, it announced yesterday. Following a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), bosses agreed to refund $32.5m worth of the in-game buys after thousands of complaints came to light. The company will also be forced to [...]
Osborne slams EU status quo in reform speech January 15, 2014 CHANCELLOR George Osborne insisted that the European Union must reform or become an irrelevance yesterday, warning that the UK would not be forced into joining the single currency. Speaking at think tank Open Europe’s conference on EU reform, Osborne said he was glad that the UK had not joined the single currency, insisting that there [...]
Inside Track: The EU’s rules to cap bankers’ bonuses aren’t working January 15, 2014 CREATE a loophole and bankers will leap through it quicker than you can say “deferred compensation”: that seems to be one of the axioms of the aftermath of the financial crisis. Examine the consequences of the European Commission’s cap on the multiple of salaries that banks can dish out in variable pay, though, and the [...]
Assembly hits out at Davies for keeping Heathrow on the table January 15, 2014 THE LONDON Assembly hit out at the possible expansion of Heathrow Airport yesterday, saying a new runway would inflict unnecessary noise on nearby residents. The Assembly voted 13 to 7 in favour of a motion opposing a larger Heathrow, calling instead for airlines to use spare capacity at other airports in the south east. This [...]
Samsung sells stake in UK chipmaker CSR January 15, 2014 SAMSUNG yesterday confirmed it has sold its stake in UK chipmaker CSR, causing the London-listed firm’s share price to tumble nearly three per cent during trading. The sale comes after CSR’s announcement in December that it would discontinue its camera-on-a-chip technology used in point and shoot digital cameras, a move welcomed by investors. Samsung’s stake [...]
Thinktank: Cut National Insurance January 15, 2014 A LEADING thinktank is calling on politicians to cut National Insurance in order to lift low and middle-income workers out of financial hardship. Liberal research group CentreForum warned all three major political parties that tinkering around the edges with a 10p tax rate and increases in the personal allowance will cost more and help fewer [...]
Punch Taverns risks defaulting if debt plan fails January 15, 2014 STRUGGLING pub chain Punch Taverns yesterday unveiled a plan to restructure its £2.3bn debt pile with lenders, with executives warning the plan was the only alternative to defaulting. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) hit out at the company’s actions, claiming that they had not seen the restructuring plans and only had limited interaction with [...]
Bottom Line: The pub group’s grim warnings failed to land a knockout blow January 15, 2014 THAT’S not the way to do it. Punch Taverns was well aware of the problem some of its lenders had with its restructuring plan as set out in December last year. Yesterday, it tried to bludgeon the opposition, announcing proposals it called final, the result of 14 months of engagement. Setting out certain concessions, it [...]