BILL OF THE WEEK June 14, 2009 AHH, it’s the little luxuries in life that count, isn’t it? These six weary ladies popped into the Palm Court restaurant at The Langham hotel on Friday, to treat themselves after a hard day’s retail therapy in the boutiques of Bond Street. All six opted for the luxurious Bijoux afternoon tea – Cornish crab and [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 14, 2009 HOME RETAIL GROUPSeasonal performance at Homebase appears to have driven consensus forecasts higher, said Nomura analysts as they reiterated their “buy” rating on the stock and upped their target price to 288p. The broker says the firm is on track to reduce full year total costs. ITVGoldman Sachs removed ITV from its “Conviction List” and [...]
City minister Myners in EU hedge pledge June 14, 2009 CITY minister Paul Myners has pledged to fight potentially disastrous European Union (EU) plans to cap the amount hedge funds are allowed to borrow, after key reports predicted a rebound for the sector. Myners this weekend said he would fight “tooth and nail” to revise a Brussels directive seeking the hedge fund curb, which could [...]
Met Office holds the secret to summer success June 14, 2009 I THOUGHT this whole “green shoots” argument was becoming a bit clichéd…then we started getting results from the DIY retailers. In a strictly horticultural sense “green shoots” went a long way towards propping up earnings at Home Retail last week, as sunny weather motivated the great British public to snap up gardening gear, barbecues, bikes [...]
Law firms see fee incomes fall June 14, 2009 LEGAL giants saw their fee incomes dive by 4.3 per cent in the quarter to end April compared with last year, dragging down their full-year results. Deloitte’s Quarterly Legal Sector Survey found performance has continued to decline, with chargeable hours per fee-earning lawyer falling 7.1 per cent compared with last year across the top 100 [...]
LoveFilm set to cash in on sale June 14, 2009 LOVEFILM, the online DVD rental company which has had storming growth thanks to titles such as Slumdog Millionaire, is understood to be considering a stock exchange listing which could provide a £14m windfall for the company’s management. Chief executive Simon Calver has hired investment bank Jefferies to assess strategic options, with a possible sale of [...]
MPC steadied by string of positive data June 14, 2009 CAUTIOUS optimism is likely to dominate the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) June minutes due out this Wednesday, in the light of the last fortnight’s string of positive data. Key MPC members including Kate Barker and Paul Fisher have already expressed concerns about the strength and sustainability of the UK’s nascent economic recovery, [...]
WHEN DO YOU SEE UK INTEREST RATES STARTING TO RISE AGAIN? June 14, 2009 GEORGE BUCKLEY DEUTSCHE BANKWe have them rising in the second half of 2010. The Bank might have to raise rates quicker, but on balance the amount of rebalancing that households and firms will have to do in the UK will restrict the pace of growth. IAN MCCAFFERTY CBIWe will need to see some move back [...]
Retail giants set for battle June 14, 2009 SUPERMARKET heavyweights Tesco and J Sainsbury are set to battle it out this week for retail supremacy, when they both announce sales results for the past quarter. Tomorrow, Tesco is expected to report an underlying rise in sales of between 4 and 4.5 per cent, lagging behind J Sainsbury’s predicted 7 per cent growth. Tesco, [...]
Tube strikes are a blot on our global reputation June 14, 2009 MY HEART sank when the International Herald Tribune splashed a large photograph of London commuters struggling to get to work on its front cover. Although the article rightly complimented Londoners on their determination to keep businesses going in the face of crippling tube strikes, it made me angry. This is not the image of London [...]
