Amazon bulks permanent UK staff October 15, 2013 Amazon will take on 800 new permanent staff in the run up to the holiday period, alongside the 15,000 hires it will take on a temporary basis. The new staff will take on a new shift pattern as the online retail giant moves its fulfilment centre staff from five-day to four-day working weeks.
Gender divide remains in marketing October 15, 2013 Men control the highest positions in marketing, despite 75 per cent of marketers being female, according to research from recruitment marketing specialist EMR. The firm explains the likely reason for career progression slowdown is due to women having children and the responsibilities of childcare. The greatest gap is between the ages of 30 and 49, [...]
Axa and Norges to lend to property October 15, 2013 The property arm of French insurer Axa has joined forces with Norway’s largest sovereign wealth fund to provide debt to the property sector, as firms look to fill the void left by the decline in bank financing. Axa Real Estate Investment Managers and Norges Bank Investment Management’s joint venture will target senior loans of up [...]
Telford Homes fully sold for the year October 15, 2013 Telford Homes, the east London residential developer, said that it had already sold all of its expected homes for the current year and 70 per cent for next year due to improving economic confidence and rising mortgage availability. Chief exec Jon Di-Stefano said that 101 of the 132 flats at its Horizons scheme in Canary [...]
Omnicom beats forecasts as its merger nears October 15, 2013 OMNICOM Group, the largest US advertising company, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as ad spending strengthened in its home market, reinforcing expectations of strong growth for the industry in the second half. The firm also said its $35.1bn (£22bn) merger with French-based Publicis is on track to close early next year, chief executive John Wren [...]
WPP buys Chinese advertising firm as it chases growth targets October 15, 2013 ADVERTISING giant WPP has bought Chinese media agency IM2.0, it announced yesterday, as the group pushes towards its target of 40 per cent gains in fast-growth markets. IM2.0, which was established in 2008 and counts Dell, Adidas and China Merchant Bank among its clients, had revenues last year of over 72m yuan (£7.4m). IM2.0 employs [...]
Mecom shares soar after it raises outlook and chief exec resigns October 15, 2013 EUROPEAN publishing company Mecom Group delighted investors yesterday by raising its full-year core profit forecast, as it announced that its chief executive would step down at the end of the month. Shares in the company, which have fallen 46 per cent since the beginning of the year, traded up as much as 50 per cent, [...]
North America sales add fizz to Coca-Cola profit October 15, 2013 COCA-COLA reported higher quarterly earnings and lower revenue yesterday as strong sales of its namesake products offset the effects of global economic pressures and the costs of restructuring bottling operations in Brazil and the Philippines. Net income rose six per cent to $2.45bn (£1.5bn), or 54 cents per share, in the third quarter from $2.31bn, [...]
Johnson & Johnson ups forecast after better than expected results October 15, 2013 JOHNSON & Johnson (J&J) reported better-than-expected third-quarter results yesterday, as strong growth for prescription drugs overshadowed weaker contributions from its medical device and consumer products businesses. Global drug revenue jumped almost 10 per cent to $7.04bn (£4.4bn), repeating the strong performance seen in the prior quarter, on soaring sales of its Simponi and Remicade treatments [...]
Grangemouth talks plough on October 15, 2013 Talks to avert a 48-hour strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland resumed yesterday amid an atmosphere of hostility between operator Ineos and the Unite union, raising the chances of disruption to North Sea crude oil flows. The plant began to close on Monday ahead of industrial action. Meanwhile Conservative politicians Robert Halfon warned that [...]