Next’s online sales help offset weaker trading on high street May 2, 2012 NEXT said yesterday that customers flocking to buy clothes through its online Directory business helped offset a fall in first quarter sales at its high street stores. Total Next sales rose 1.4 per cent in the three months to 28 April, the high street chain said. While retail sales across its 536 fashion and homewares [...]
Wetherspoon rallies against higher taxes May 2, 2012 PUBS OPERATOR JD Wetherspoon said yesterday “unsustainable” higher costs from a tough tax regime in Britain left it cautious on full-year prospects, even as it reported a rise in third-quarter sales. The company, which has over 800 pubs across Britain, said its tax bill in the current financial year would be about half a billion [...]
JOHN LEWIS CHAIRMAN BAGS £1M May 2, 2012 CHARLIE Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, took home a total salary of £954,000 last year. Mayfield’s base salary was £825,000, with additional payments including a partnership bonus of £115,000 – equal to the 14 per cent bonus awarded across the group. The firm said Mayfield’s salary was 60 times the average basic salary [...]
One-man firms worth a billion could be reality May 2, 2012 RESEARCH by a leading M&A advisory firm suggests that we are approaching an age where companies can be worth billions despite having “near-zero” employees. Magister Advisers believe that the success of firms such as photo-sharing service Instagram – sold for $1bn (£617m) last month despite being less than two years old and having just thirteen [...]
Everything Everywhere grows as users turn to smartphones May 2, 2012 EVERYTHING Everywhere, the UK’s largest mobile network provider, yesterday reported a strong uptake of smartphones in its first quarter, boosting core growth. Underlying service revenues, excluding the impact of regulatory cuts, grew by 2.9 per cent in the first quarter to £1.5bn. But enforced cuts to mobile termination rates – the amount telecoms companies charge [...]
Court in Germany rules against Microsoft in tech patent fight May 2, 2012 A COURT in Mannheim ruled yesterday that Microsoft had infringed Motorola Mobility’s patents, and ordered Microsoft to remove its popular Xbox 360 gaming consoles and Windows 7 operating system software from the German market. However, Microsoft said that the ruling did not mean that its products would be taken off retailers’ shelves because a US [...]
Facebook to launch roadshow for mega-flotation next week May 2, 2012 FACEBOOK could set off on its IPO roadshow as early as Monday, paving the way for the biggest internet flotation ever. The SEC is set to approve the offering imminently, meaning the social network will be able to start pitching its stock to potential investors. Sources have set 18 May as a likely date for the listing, [...]
Mastercard and Visa buoyed by surge in profits May 2, 2012 THE WORLD’S largest credit card firms yesterday reported bumper profits as consumers put more of their spending on cards. Visa, the world’s largest credit card firm saw profit surge 47 per cent in the second quarter, while closest rival Mastercard saw a 21 per cent rise in profit as spending on credit and debit cards [...]
LME bidder ups income May 2, 2012 INTERCONTINENTAL Exchange (ICE), one of the parties believed to be preparing a bid for the London Metal Exchange, yesterday reported a nine per cent rise in revenues for the first quarter compared to the same period last year. ICE, which runs clearing houses and exchanges, said revenues had grown to a record $365m (£225.4m) in [...]
Housing gloom grows as Co-op pulls interest only mortgages May 2, 2012 THE CO-OPERATIVE Bank has become the first major lender to pull its interest only mortgages. It said demand for the product had dropped because of falling house prices and “uncertainty” over interest rates. New customers will only be able to take mortgages on a capital and repayment basis from Tuesday. James Hillon, Co-op Bank head [...]
