Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct gives up naming rights to Rangers Ibrox Stadium and loans club an extra £1m November 12, 2014 Mike Ashley has given up his rights to rename Rangers football club’s Ibrox stadium and loaned the struggling club an additional £1m. The Sports Direct owner, who also owns a stake in the Scottish club, bought the naming rights two years ago for just £1, but the deal was only revealed in September. The miniscule [...]
New Look exits Russia blaming political unrest November 11, 2014 New Look has pulled out of its franchise agreements in Russia and Ukraine, blaming financial and political instability in the two countries. The value fashion retailer, which had previously targeted Russia as a key area of growth, said yesterday it was closing all 20 shops in Russia and six shops in Ukraine. Chief executive Anders [...]
New Look defies warm weather as profits soar November 11, 2014 New Look has defied the warm weather that has dampened other retailers' sales, with the fast fashion business reporting profits up a whopping 89.1 per cent for the first half of the year. Profits before tax stood at £26.1m for the six months to September 27 – up on £13.8m the same period last [...]
Why Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has a business case for T-shirts November 10, 2014 His Q&A last week revealed some unlikely lessons for leaders. Facebook staff are treated every Friday to a Q&A session with founder Mark Zuckerberg. And last week, that privilege was extended to Facebook users, with a small crowd gathering to volley questions at Zuckerberg and his leadership team. Holding court for just over an [...]
Barack Obama backs net neutrality and says Internet must stay “free and open” November 10, 2014 US President Barack Obama has nailed his colours to the mast of net neutrality, as he urged the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fully embrace the principle in its new rules on internet governance. The FCC, an independent governmental agency, is currently drawing up new rules on internet governance which are expected to [...]
David Cameron and George Osborne give Aldi thumbs up after 35,000 jobs pledge November 10, 2014 It's not just bargain hunting shoppers and those looking for the best tipple who love Aldi – now the Prime Minister and chancellor have told the world of their love for the German grocer. David Cameron and George Osborne today welcomed the news that Aldi has pledged to create 35,000 new jobs in the [...]
Mark Carney: Banks will have to increase financial buffer to end “too big to fail”, but it’s going to cost them November 10, 2014 Banks will no longer be “too big to fail” if new rules aimed at ensuring banks have enough capital behind them in the event of another financial crisis drawn up by Mark Carney are approved. New proposals put together by the Financial Stability Board, led by Bank of England governor Carney, will curb the need for [...]
New Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe is on the right road by clamping down on this spending – Bottom Line November 10, 2014 It takes one to know one – and thus I can confidently declare that ex-Sainsbury’s boss Justin King is a contrarian. As the kind of fool who has a tenner on Arsenal to win this season’s Champions League, I am instantly able to recognise the delight he must feel by saying things like “there’s nothing [...]
Mark Carney plans more capital rules for banks to end taxpayer bailouts November 10, 2014 Global banks face more capital fine tuning as Mark Carney leads the drive to end taxpayer bailouts over the coming weeks and months. The Bank of England governor has been re-appointed as the head of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) – a group of global regulators – and is expected to propose more fine-tuning of [...]
George Osborne accused of “spin” and “smoke and mirrors” after claims of halving £1.7bn EU bill November 8, 2014 George Osborne heralded successful negotiations to halve the £1.7bn bill demanded by the European Union as a “result for Britain” yesterday, however his claims have been criticised as “spin” and “smoke and mirrors” by rival political parties. The EU had set a deadline of 1 December for the UK to pay up. This has now [...]