Trade deficit widens more than expected in November January 11, 2012 Goods trade deficit widened more than expected in November, unwinding the previous month’s record narrowing as exports fell and imports of o widened more than expected in November, unwinding the previous month’s record narrowing as exports fell and imports of oil and chemicals rose to record highs, official data showed. The Office for National Statistics [...]
Greggs in festive boost January 11, 2012 Baker Greggs posted a rise in sales over the Christmas and New year trading period and forecast more growth in 2012. The Newcastle, North East England-based firm, which sells bread, sandwiches, savouries, cakes and pastries to over 6 million customers a week, said on Wednesday sales at stores open over a year rose 5.1 per [...]
SABMiller in £4bn bond auction to finance Foster’s deal January 11, 2012 Global brewer SABMiller aid it had issued and successfully priced a $7bn (£4bn) bond auction with the proceeds used to repay part of the bank borrowing taken on for the purchase of Australian brewer Foster’ s late last year. The London-based brewer of Miller Lite, Peroni and Grolsch beer finalised the cash takeover of Foster’ [...]
SuperGroup sales jump over Christmas January 11, 2012 SuperGroup, the company behind the Superdry fashion brand, posted a 22 per cent rise in group sales over the key Christmas period as it overcame distribution issues which had dogged the firm in 2011. The company, whose clothes are a favourite of celebrities such as David Beckham, Leonardo DiCaprio and Zac Efron, said total sales [...]
Sainsbury’s sales top forecasts January 11, 2012 Grocer J Sainsbury beat Christmas sales forecasts as store extensions and its expansion into convenience outlets, online shopping and non-food ranges helped it weather a tough market. Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group behind Wal-Mart’s Asda and industry leader Tesco said on Wednesday sales at stores open over a year rose 2.1 per cent excluding fuel in [...]
£33bn rail scheme faces legal threat January 10, 2012 LOBBY groups said yesterday that legal challenges to a high speed rail link between London and Birmingham are already in the pipeline, after the controversial new route was given the green light by the government. Campaigners against the planned rail link, dubbed High Speed 2 (HS2), will attempt to place the Department for Transport’s approval [...]
Danes join Cameron in fight against financial transaction tax January 10, 2012 A FINANCIAL transactions tax will cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, Danish economy minister Margrethe Vestager said yesterday, while Denmark’s former foreign minister Lene Espersen described the tax as “bullshit.” The Danes – who hold the EU’s rotating presidency – now match David Cameron’s rejection of the European Commission’s proposals. Vestager pointed to the EC’s [...]
Rivals round on Romney January 10, 2012 MITT Romney faces growing questions about his candidacy for the Republican US presidential nomination despite going into last night’s primary contest as the clear favourite. The former head of private equity house Bain held onto a significant lead in the final opinion polls for the New Hampshire primary, while the battle for second place appeared [...]
Orange juice futures soar January 10, 2012 US orange juice futures surged by more than 10 per cent to an all-time high yesterday over fears an unapproved fungicide in Brazil could hit juice imports. The benchmark March frozen concentrated orange juice contract on the ICE Futures US exchange – one of the smallest futures markets featured in the 1980s film Trading Places [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 10, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES MICROSOFT ALLEGES PIRACY IN CHINA LAWSUITS Microsoft has stepped up its fight against software piracy in China with unprecedented lawsuits against Chinese electronics retailers. The company is suing Shanghai Gome, a branch of one of the country’s largest electronics and appliances chains, and Beijing Chaoyang Buynow, one of China’s largest computer malls. The [...]