M&S Christmas trading blighted as clothes sales continue to fall January 9, 2014 No belated Christmas cheer for Marks and Spencer – the group's just reported that like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 28 December were down 2.1 per cent. The quarter, it said this morning, was a challenging one, and performance was below expectations. Sales in general merchandise, which includes clothes, fell for the tenth quarter [...]
2014 brings bad news for Britain’s supermarkets January 9, 2014 Tesco has announced a disappointing set of results for the Christmas and New Year period. In the UK like-for-like sales were down 2.4 per in the six weeks to 4 January. Group sales for the period fell by 1.2 per cent. Chief executive Philip Clarke commented: We continued to invest in the most compelling offer [...]
European banks face $28bn blow January 8, 2014 EUROPE’S biggest investment banks face more years of misery, a top analyst warned yesterday, with any return to normality in 2014 dashed as fines and legal bills of more than $28bn (£17bn) outpace planned cuts for years to come. The biggest six investment banks in Europe plan to shake up their businesses to cut out [...]
Rolls-Royce and Bentley drive home record global sales January 8, 2014 TWO of Britain’s luxury car brands enjoyed unprecedented global sales last year, driven by booming demand in the Middle East and parts of Asia. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said today it delivered 3,630 vehicles in 2013, up 1.5 per cent to give the firm its fourth record-breaking year in a row. The UK has been “stable” [...]
Fed in no rush to taper but QE is losing force January 8, 2014 MOST of the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting board now believe that the positive effects of quantitative easing are diminishing as purchases continue, while insisting they were in no rush to speed up the new tapering programme. “A majority of participants judged that the marginal efficacy of (QE) purchases was likely declining as purchases continue,” according to [...]
Flying high: London’s Air Ambulance 25 years old today January 8, 2014 LONDON’S Air Ambulance service, which has been dispatched to more than 30,000 critically injured people in the capital, celebrates 25 years of service today. It is now seeking help to acquire a second helicopter and to recruit additional pilots and fire crew to extend its daylight flying hours in the summer months. “I urge people [...]
Growth creates drought of London job candidates January 8, 2014 A SKILLS squeeze is hitting London while companies across the UK are also finding it increasingly hard to find appropriate staff, a report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG reveals today. As the economy recovers, employers are reporting a shortage of skilled candidates for vacancies. According to the survey, the drop in availability [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 9 January 2014 January 8, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES UK mobile services in Channel tunnel British Eurotunnel passengers will finally be able to use mobile phones under the sea following an agreement between the Channel tunnel operator and UK telecoms groups to provide the same sort of voice and data services that have been available to the French since 2012. China offers [...]
I agree with Nick, tweets Ed Balls January 8, 2014 LABOUR’S Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has set fingers tapping on Twitter again, this time by seemingly pledging his allegiance to Nick Clegg. In an interview in New Statesman magazine Balls said he could understand why the Liberal Democrat leader had formed a coalition with the Conservatives, adding that he would not be averse to discussing [...]
Skip the visa queue – pay January 8, 2014 THE GOVERNMENT could be about to hand wealthy investors an easy way around the visa queue by handing over cash in return for citizenship. Investor visas could be awarded to the highest bidder, or potential citizens offered the chance to donate money to good causes, including building new hospitals or universities, in return for leave to [...]