Tesco in new online push January 21, 2013 TESCO intensified its dotcom push yesterday by opening its fifth “dark store” near Crawley, West Sussex. The dotcom store, which will create 700 jobs, will serve only online shoppers. The supermarket typically offers an instore pick-up service for its online customers, but is ramping up its dotcom store presence thanks to growing demand in and [...]
Pearson warns of tough 2013 as profits falter January 21, 2013 PEARSON, the education and media business behind the Financial Times newspaper, has warned that annual profits will be lower than expected. The company said “tough market conditions and structural industry change” were to blame for an unexpected fall in operating profits, and that these issues were likely to continue into 2013. The announcement sent shares [...]
Fighting against the future can only buy so much time January 21, 2013 THE decision by HMV’s administrators Deloitte to honour gift vouchers and to pay proceeds raised for charity singles is a piece of luck for those caught out by the music chain’s crisis. While at first sight this is less heartwarming for the chain’s other creditors, it may in fact be slightly upbeat news for them [...]
Analyst Views | Does Pearson’s profit downgrade affect your rating? January 21, 2013 STEVE LIECHTI INVESTEC 2012 downgrades are expected but 2013 forecasts fall by even more given warnings in a number of areas. US higher education is still seeing drag given state budget pressure while college admissions are reducing. We retain our “Hold” guidance but cut the price target from 1240p to 1190p. THOMAS SINGLEHURST CITI A [...]
Resolution taps ex-Stan Chart boss to be chair January 21, 2013 FORMER Standard Chartered chief executive Sir Malcolm Williamson is set to become chairman of insurance buy-out vehicle Resolution, it was announced yesterday. Williamson, 73, will succeed Mike Biggs, who is stepping down as part of a plan to streamline the complicated executive structure at the FTSE 100 group, which was founded by industry pioneer Clive Cowdery in [...]
Virtu Financial ditches London for merged Dublin operations January 21, 2013 US MARKET maker Virtu Financial is to shut its London office and relocate all its European trading operations staff to Dublin, it emerged yesterday. The high frequency trader, which merged with fellow US trading outfit Madison Tyler in May 2011, will close its office on the edge of Hyde Park and slim down to a [...]
EasyJet draws fresh protests from Stelios January 21, 2013 EASYJET’S biggest shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has gone on the offensive as the airline considers its next plane purchase, threatening to sell his holding unless the board calls a halt to any new aircraft orders. Sir Stelios, along with his brother and sister, have already sold 600,000 EasyJet shares in the open market to “send [...]
Arcade game legend Atari looks for extra lives after bankruptcy January 21, 2013 THE VIDEO game firm behind classics such as Pong and Asteroids has filed for bankruptcy in the US. Atari, one of the firms credited with kickstarting the industry in the 1970s, is being separated from its French parent company, in a bid to isolate the business from the French firm’s debts and give it a [...]
Cruddas due to face accuser in the High Court January 21, 2013 PETER Cruddas, the majority shareholder of spread-betting group CMC Markets and a former Conservative party treasurer, is set to appear in the High Court tomorrow to proceed with a defamation claim against the political lobbyist Mark Adams. Sources said that a meeting aimed at reaching a settlement in the case failed yesterday, with Adams unable [...]
Dell appoints Evercore Partners to find alternative buyout offers January 21, 2013 DELL, the US personal computer manufacturer which is currently negotiating a private buyout deal, has appointed advisory firm Evercore Partners to find out if a better offer can be found, according to reports. Dell is believed to be close to a deal led by buyout firm Silverlake Partners, which is being supported by founder and [...]