Sports Direct buys up stake in Debenhams January 13, 2014 An unusual decision from Sports Direct this morning, but markets seem to like it. The retailer announced this morning that it's bought a 4.6 per cent stake in Debenhams. Shares in the latter have climbed over five per cent on the news: In a statement this morning, Sports Direct said that the move is to [...]
Royal Mail kicks off 2014 with management shakeup January 13, 2014 The recently-privatised Royal Mail has announced a series of changes to its senior management team. As Royal Mail begins its time in the private sector, Mark Higson, managing director, operations and modernisation, following the company's AGM, decided to resign from the board in July 2014. The company said he had "played a key role in [...]
What you need to know before the open – 13/01 January 13, 2014 US jobs data on Friday was something of a surprise in terms of how poor the payrolls report was, but markets seem pretty unperturbed by the news, with European bourses expected positive this morning. European equities to play catch up on Street of Dreams close at this morning's opening – FTSE +13, DAX +17, [...]
Greene King brews up record-breaking Christmas January 13, 2014 Pub retailer Greene King has posted a rise in like-for-like sales of five per cent for the last six weeks. The company achieved a six per cent rise in like-for-like sales over the years two most important trading weeks. Christmas Day proved to be the most successful in the company's history, with 62,000 meals sold, [...]
Banks cut hours for junior staff January 12, 2014 A NUMBER of City banks are examining plans to cut the hours worked by interns and junior staff in their investment banking units, City A.M understands, following criticism some are working dangerously hard. After months of intense scrutiny of the industry’s practices, Barclays is thought to be considering increasing the number of junior staff it [...]
Local councils get bigger slice of fracking cash January 12, 2014 SHALE GAS exploration was given a further boost by the government today, as local councils were told that they could keep 100 per cent of business rates from developed sites. The increase from the current 50 per cent figure could be worth up to £1.7m per year for a typical site, the government claims. “This [...]
The lights go out on HMV’s flagship Oxford Street store January 12, 2014 HMV’S flagship store at 150 Oxford Street closed its doors for the last time yesterday, almost 30 years after it was first opened. The world’s biggest music store, which opened in 1986, will be converted into a Sports Direct after the sportswear giant snapped up the lease to the 60,000 square foot shop. The troubled [...]
Business lending to boom as UK recovery takes hold January 12, 2014 LENDING is set to rise in every area of the economy, analysts at EY forecast today, as the recovery finally gives banks the confidence to supply more credit. No other European country’s bankers have so much confidence, the study found, underlining the strength of the recovery in Britain. Firms of all sizes and sectors in [...]
Jump in City hiring as firms bounce back January 12, 2014 CITY hiring bounced back towards the end of 2013 in new signs that the finance sector’s crisis era is over, industry data show today. Recruiter Astbury Marsden found 1,336 new jobs in December, up 67 per cent on the same month of 2012. At the start of 2013 job creation was falling, but the increase [...]
Relief for banks as regulator eases debt rule January 12, 2014 BANKS won a welcome reprieve yesterday after regulators agreed to ease the way a new rule, meant to rein in risky balance sheets from 2018, is compiled to try to avoid crimping financing for the world’s economy. The decisions, by the Basel Committee’s oversight body, were the latest sign of how regulators have become more [...]