M&S sales up as staff given £80m bonus April 8, 2010 STAFF at Marks & Spencer will be handed an £80m bonus pot after the retailer ended the year with better-than-expected same store sales of 5.1 per cent in the UK. The figures were fuelled by the unseasonally cold weather which saw a massive jump in the sake of woollens. M&S said that total like-for-like sales [...]
Bank recruitment returning April 8, 2010 RECRUITMENT in the banking sector is starting to gather speed according to staffing giants Hays and Robert Walters, after each saw recruitment activity in the UK financial sector pick up during the first quarter. Robert Walters said the group had benefitted from increased hiring activity in the UK, particularly the banking sector, while Hays said [...]
Discount airlines see double-digit boost to March passenger traffic statistics April 8, 2010 DISCOUNT airline easyJet has seen the number of passengers travelling during March climb by 13.5 per cent. Last month easyJet flew 3.9m passengers across its 500 routes compared with the same period last year when it flew 3.5m passengers. EasyJet said the numbers were helped by the seven-day strike by British Airways (BA) cabin crew [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HAS M&S TURNED THE CORNER? April 8, 2010 SAM HART | CHARLES STANLEY The figures are encouraging and beat forecasts. There could be more to come and the business looks in good shape. The profit forecast is a little under forecasts but the larger than expected bonus pot goes some way to explaining that. I think there could be more to come from [...]
Vedanta reports record aluminium mining output April 8, 2010 INDIAN focused mining group Vedanta posted record quarterly production of iron ore and aluminium in its fourth quarter, helping it take advantage of rising metal prices. Fourth quarter production of saleable iron ore, its second most profitable product, jumped 59 per cent to 7.8m tonnes, taking its annual output up 34 per cent. Rising demand [...]
Better load factor is key April 8, 2010 AT LAST, there is sun on the horizon for the beleaguered airline industry. Easyjet yesterday said its passenger numbers were up 13.5 per cent in March compared to last year, a similar result to Ryanair, which carried 13 per cent more passengers last month. Although both companies said they saw increased business thanks to the [...]
BA and Iberia sign merger agreement April 8, 2010 BRITISH Airways and Iberia have signed a merger agreement that will see the two carriers launch a new company called International Airlines. The merger is expected to be complete by November this year and has received approval from local aviation authorities but awaits both European Commission and shareholder approval. BA and Iberia will create a [...]
Upbeat data indicates no double-dip April 8, 2010 THE Bank of England chose to leave monetary policy unchanged yesterday as a raft of upbeat data suggested that the recovery was on track if not fully assured. The decision was widely expected by the markets given Bank governor Mervyn King’s repeated warnings of an economy bumping along the bottom for some time to come [...]
CITY VIEWS: WAS THE BANK OF ENGLAND RIGHT TO LEAVE INTEREST RATES ON HOLD? April 8, 2010 JAMES BREWINS | NMB “Holding interest rates is not an ideal situation for savings. It is good for the economy and at the moment low rates are stimulating it. Really it’s a guessing game; all ifs and buts at the moment.” JOHN DAVIS | RPS GROUP “Yes, British business needs encouragement, especially with the fragile [...]
House prices bouncing back April 8, 2010 HOUSE prices increased for the eighth time in nine months in March, but experts warn more property being put up for sale could dampen further price rises. The latest house price index shows prices rose by 1.1 per cent during March, partly offsetting February’s 1.6 per cent fall. The rise means prices during the first [...]
