N Brown gets uplift from its lingerie profits May 1, 2012 N BROWN, the listed fashion and homewear retailer that targets mature and larger shoppers, said it was confident in its outlook for 2012 after posting a 2.5 per cent rise in full-year profit to £96.9m. Its younger brands performed particularly strongly with Fig Leaves, the online lingerie and swimwear business, reporting the first profit in [...]
DEBENHAMS TAKES EXTRA SPACE IN LONDON May 1, 2012 DEBENHAMS has agreed to pre-let an extra 29,500 sq ft of office space at British Land’s Regent’s Place development near Warren Street station. The retailer said in September it planned to move its headquarters to the scheme on Brock Street, due to be completed in 12 months. The deal for a 25-year term takes Debenhams’ [...]
Paddick ahead in hotel’s straw poll May 1, 2012 BRIAN Paddick may be a distant third in the race to be Mayor of London but the Lib Dem candidate can take solace in the fact that he’s edging to victory in one key electoral contest – at the bar of the Corinthia Hotel London. Staff at the Charing Cross hotel have been doing their [...]
WANTED: A TWEET-MEISTER FOR GOLDMAN May 1, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs, the investment bank that everyone loves to hate, is looking to change perceptions, at least on social media sites. Goldman is looking for a social media community manager, based at its New York office, who can create and maintain Facebook updates, Twitter posts and be a whizz at Linkedin group management. The successful [...]
Olympics won’t come to rescue of UK economy May 1, 2012 THE OLYMPIC Games will provide only a “temporary fillip” to corporate earnings and fail to lift the UK from its economic stagnation, according to a study released yesterday by Moody’s. The impact of Olympics-related infrastructure developments has “probably already been felt”, Moody’s said. In 2005 the government calculated the economic net benefit of the event [...]
Apple faces investigation over claims of false iPad advertising May 1, 2012 APPLE is facing an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority following complaints that the new iPad is inaccurately described on its website. The tablet is available to buy on 4G – the latest generation of mobile connectivity – despite the fact that the UK does not currently have a 4G network and the iPad will [...]
O1 Properties seeks $425m May 1, 2012 O1 Properties, one of Russia’s largest high-end office owners, said it is aiming to raise about $425m (£262m) from its flotation on the London Stock Exchange. The IPO could be Russia’s biggest since last June when fertiliser group Phosagro raised $538m. The group, which owns around $2bn of property in Moscow, said it is looking [...]
GM raises US sales outlook May 1, 2012 GENERAL Motors reported a smaller-than-expected decline in US new vehicle sales in April and raised its outlook for the year. The US carmaker said its sales fell eight per cent last month while Ford posted a five per cent fall. GM warned that the next few months could be choppy, but projected that US auto [...]
Manufacturing figures boost US growth hope May 1, 2012 HOPES for a healthy economic recovery were kept alive in the US yesterday as new data showed a manufacturing rebound in April, after two months of slowing growth. Rising growth hopes also led Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart to say he does not think more quantitative easing is needed. Factory output accelerated in the month [...]
Chinese factories up output through April May 1, 2012 CHINA’S manufacturing activity expanded again in April, official survey data showed yesterday, hinting at a renewed recovery. The state’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) hit 53.3 last month, up on March’s 53.1 and February’s 51, showing output accelerating away from the “no change” level of 50. The output component jumped from 55.2 to 57.2, while new [...]
