Decline in sales and footfall starts to slow June 5, 2011 THE UK high street has reported a drop in sales and footfall after April’s bumper figures, but the latest numbers suggest the underlying decline in retailers’ fortunes is slowing down. Total sales in May fell 0.1 per cent year-on-year, with good weather and seasonal promotions boosting trade, according to the May figures from BDO’s High [...]
HMV nears refinancing deal with its lenders June 5, 2011 EMBATTLED retailer HMV is close to securing a vital refinancing from its lenders, a source close to the company confirmed yesterday. Months-long talks with HMV’s lending syndicate, led by Lloyds Banking Group and RBS, are close to yielding a two-year refinancing of between £210m and £230m, allowing the firm some breathing space to get its [...]
Bean sprouts may be cause of killer bug June 5, 2011 BEAN SPROUTS locally grown in northern Germany have been identified as the likely cause of the E.coli outbreak sweeping across Europe. Gert Hahne, a spokesman for the agriculture ministry in Lower Saxony, said health officials had identified the sprouts as the possible source of the deadly bug. The source of the contamination could have been [...]
Betfred sets out Tote’s future June 5, 2011 SENIOR executives from Betfred will meet with management from the Tote this week to set out the future direction of the company. The bookmaker has assured Tote staff that no more than 150 redundancies will be made when the two firms merge, with jobs instead being cut from head office over the next 12 months. [...]
OPEC likely to boost output to bring down price of crude oil June 5, 2011 GULF Arab OPEC members led by Saudi Arabia will push for an increase in supplies at a meeting of the oil cartel this week, in an effort to support flagging world economic growth by bringing crude prices back below $100 a barrel. Data indicating that economic recovery may be stalling in the West is worrying [...]
Irish police arrest men for following INM boss June 5, 2011 INDEPENDENT News and Media (INM) yesterday confirmed Irish police have detained a number of individuals who were following the car of its chief executive Gavin O’Reilly. It is not yet clear who is behind the surveillance operation tracking O’Reilly. The news came as INM distanced itself from speculation chairman Brian Hillery is preparing to quit [...]
The rock’n’roll banker that is set to chair Aviva June 5, 2011 FORMER Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) chief executive John McFarlane is being touted as the next chairman of insurance group Aviva, after Sir Richard Broadbent passed over the role last month in favour of a move to Tesco. The appointment of McFarlane, who currently sits on the board of RBS, is believed to [...]
Merkel ally: Greece needs firmer hand June 5, 2011 EUROPE must be more hardline with Greece to push the country towards economic reform, according to the parliamentary leader of Germany’s ruling Christian Democrats. Valder Kauder, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that Germany has not yet decided whether to boost its bailout loan to Greece, despite a statement by the IMF, European Commission [...]
Brits probed over Swiss bank assets June 5, 2011 THOUSANDS of HSBC customers with money in Swiss bank accounts are to be investigated by the taxman. The details of 7,000 British clients have been obtained by HM Revenue & Customs, after a whistleblower leaked the data. The accounts in question hold combined assets of about £13bn and could net HMRC millions of pounds in [...]
Critics hit out at economists’ Plan B letter June 5, 2011 A LETTER to a Sunday newspaper calling on the chancellor to consider a “Plan B” for the economy has been exposed as a publicity stunt, after it emerged that just 15 of the 52 signatories were practising economists. According to an analysis by the Adam Smith Institute, only 15 of the authors behind the letter to [...]