Good Christmas for New Look January 8, 2014 FASHION retailer New Look saw a 1.5 per cent increase in like-for-like sales over the Christmas period, a spokesperson confirmed yesterday. The UK’s second-largest women’s value store did not discount its products heavily, unlike its rivals, and still managed modest growth in the last seven weeks of last year. Despite the positive news, New Look [...]
Former Burberry exec heads to Harvey Nicks January 8, 2014 UPMARKET department store Harvey Nichols yesterday named the former finance chief of Burberry as its new chief executive. Stacey Cartwright, who worked at Burberry for nine years before stepping down last year, will join the fashion chain at the start of April. She replaces Joseph Wan, who will retire after 21 years in charge.
Carney could scrap Help to Buy next year January 8, 2014 GEORGE Osborne’s flagship Help to Buy mortgage scheme could be shot down by Mark Carney in the coming 18 months, top bank analysts said yesterday, as the booming housing market gathers pace. The chancellor wants the scheme, which supports house buyers with small deposits, to last for three years. But if the housing market overheats [...]
David Cameron in tough talks with Polish PM over benefits January 8, 2014 PRIME Minister David Cameron has urged his Polish counterpart to agree to bilateral talks over the payment of child benefit to families living overseas. The move comes just days after the PM highlighted welfare spending as a key 2015 election battleground for his party. Cameron called Donald Tusk yesterday afternoon to discuss a number of [...]
Banks lend more to small firms in sign credit crunch is easing January 8, 2014 LENDING to businesses has bounced back in the past three months, a Bank of England survey showed yesterday. The number of banks reporting firms have better access to credit outweighed the number saying the situation was worse by a margin of 22.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2013, the credit conditions survey said. [...]
Yannick Bollore named as Havas Boss January 8, 2014 FRANCE’S Havas said yesterday Yannick Bollore, the 33-year-old son of top shareholder Vincent Bollore, would take over as chief executive of the world’s sixth-biggest advertising agency. It said current CEO David Jones would leave the company to become co-founder and CEO of a new technology start-up company.
House prices rise six times faster than earnings January 8, 2014 HOUSE prices rose by 7.5 per cent in 2013 as the property market increased six times faster than the rate of typical incomes last year. Halifax, which released the annual figures yesterday, said prices rose 1.9 per cent in the last three months of the year alone. Earnings only rose by 1.1 per cent between [...]
Euro area jobless rate stuck at record high yet retail sales rise January 8, 2014 THE UNEMPLOYMENT rate in the Eurozone stuck at a record high for the eighth month in a row in November, with joblessness hitting an historic peak in Italy. Separate data also showed a 1.4 per cent jump in retail sales in November, the sharpest monthly rise for 13 years and a more positive sign for [...]
Growing trade surplus ignites feud over Germany’s exports January 8, 2014 THE ROW over the size of Germany’s trade surplus was stoked yesterday by data that showed its exports rising for a fourth straight month. The release coincided with a visit to Berlin by US Treasury secretary Jack Lew who has said that the German government should be doing more to stimulate domestic demand. Germany’s current account [...]
Persimmon steps up construction as house recovery spurs demand January 8, 2014 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon posted a 21 per cent jump in full-year revenues yesterday helped by higher prices and strong demand. The group said it has boosted construction activity as a result of a rise in weekly sales rates and that new house sales had increased by 16 per cent to 11,528 for 2013. Meanwhile housing and [...]