JD Sports buys Blacks assets for £20m January 9, 2012 JD Sports has confirmed that it has bought the assets of outdoor clothing retailer Blacks for £20m. Blacks Leisure has 98 Blacks outlets and 208 Millets stores. It also owns the Peter Storm and Eurohike brands. JD Sport Fashions said in a statement: “JD Sports Fashion , the leading retailer of sport and athletic inspired [...]
HMV gets Xmas sales still flagging January 9, 2012 Struggling British entertainment retailer HMV got a little respite over Christmas as sales declines slowed, providing a glimmer of hope the firm may have a future. The group, which last month posted wider first-half losses, said it was in danger of going out of business and put its HMV Live division up for sale, said [...]
Lloyds in talks to sell UAE business January 9, 2012 Lloyds Banking Group is in talks to dispose of its operations in the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank emerging as the frontrunner to pick up the business, according to Reuters sources. The bank, which is 40 per cent owned by the government, has appointed Rothschild as an adviser for the sale, two [...]
Morrisons sales growth slows over Christmas January 9, 2012 Wm Morrison Supermarkets reported a slowdown in sales growth over Christmas and predicted cash-strapped shoppers would remain reluctant to spend this year, despite an easing of inflationary pressures. Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer behind J Sainsbury, Wal-Mart’s Asda and industry leader Tesco) said sales at stores open over a year rose 0.7 per cent, excluding fuel and [...]
PM: Investors to have say on pay January 8, 2012 DAVID Cameron is set to give shareholders new powers to veto boardroom pay at Britain’s top public companies. Yesterday the prime minister hit out at “excessive” pay which made “people’s blood boil” and said investors should be given a legally binding vote, beyond their current advisory role, on the pay packages and pay-offs of FTSE [...]
Tobin tax could cost EU billions January 8, 2012 A EUROPEAN Tobin Tax would knock GDP and end up costing governments billions of euros in lost revenue, accounting firm Ernst &Young will argue today – yet France looks set to press ahead with the tax without waiting for pan-European agreement. The European Commission’s estimation that a financial transactions tax (known as a Tobin Tax) [...]
Lloyds boss back at work January 8, 2012 LLOYDS boss António Horta-Osório will return to Gresham Street today for his first day of work since going on sick leave in November due to insomnia. It is understood he will spend the first week meeting with executives in order to talk over their roles and revamp his management style to share more of the [...]
Keeping tabs on directors’ pay January 8, 2012 Current system ● REMUNERATION COMMITTEES Each FTSE-listed company has a remuneration committee, which is made up of non-executive directors. These people are often City veterans who have held director-level positions at other public firms and are hired to provide advice to the board. ● PAY PACKAGES The committee decides on a salary, bonus and pension [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES CAMERON RISKS FURY OVER EXTRA IMF CASH David Cameron has left open the door to Britain giving billions of pounds of new support to the International Monetary Fund – and indirectly to ailing members of the Eurozone – in a move likely to infuriate eurosceptic MPs in his own conservative party. Extra British [...]
US threatens Iran over Strait January 8, 2012 The US made an overt threat to take military action if Iran carries through with its threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a major thoroughfare for transport of global oil supplies. Defence secretary Leon Panetta said: “We made very clear that the United States will not tolerate the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz… [...]