Mothercare CEO Mark Newton-Jones on not going into sale pre-Christmas January 15, 2015 The Christmas trading season was something of quick-draw for retailers, after firing off a raft of promotions to boost sales that culminated in Black Friday – the UK’s biggest ever shopping day. Yet those that do not get caught in the crossfire of promotional activity can have the upper hand, according to Mothercare CEO Mark [...]
Bombardier abandons Learjet 85 programme at cost of $1.4bn and 1,000 jobs January 15, 2015 Aerospace giant Bombardier closed down by 26 per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange last night after announcing that it has stopped its Learjet 85 programme. The move will cost the Canadian firm approximately $1.4bn (£923m) in the fourth quarter of 2014, and will lead to around 1,000 job losses in 2015, which will cost a [...]
BlackRock’s poor performance fails to dampen flow of cash January 15, 2015 The world’s biggest money manager BlackRock saw performance fees plummet by almost half last quarter after its alternative investments stumbled. The group added another $87.8bn of cash from customers over the quarter ending December but revenue from its funds which outperform the stock market fell to $144m from $268m compared to the same period last [...]
Profits firmly grounded for Terra Firma CP January 15, 2015 TERRA Firma Capital Partners, an affiliate of the Guy Hands-owned private equity powerhouse Terra Firma, saw it profits dry up over 2014, it came to light yesterday. According to accounts published on Companies House, Terra Firma Capital Partners saw its turnover for the year shrink by 35 per cent to £34.2m, from £52.7m for 2013. [...]
RBS probes mis-selling claims January 15, 2015 SMALL businesses who took government-backed export loans from RBS have complained that the product was poorly explained and left them facing unexpected costs, the bank said yesterday. Under the export finance guarantee (EFG) scheme, RBS made loans to small firms which would otherwise have been ineligible for credit. If the firm defaulted, 75 per cent of [...]
Black Friday consumer finance demand boosts Arbuthnot Bank January 15, 2015 CONFIDENT consumers boosted growth at Arbuthnot Banking Group in the fourth quarter, spurring extra lending in its Secure Trust Bank (STB). STB’s loan book grew “materially” to more than £600m, with retail and automotive finance leading the expansion. Black Friday – the day of mass retail discounts before Christmas – saw a 1,300 per cent increase in [...]
When a currency ceiling’s broken January 15, 2015 The Swiss policy U-turn spooked markets – Chris Papadopoullos explains the change WHAT is an exchange rate cap? Foreign currencies can be bought or sold and have a price just like any other good such as a loaf of bread or a newspaper. The exchange rate can be thought of as the price of one [...]
Bovis Homes is upbeat despite cooling market January 15, 2015 BOVIS Homes said yesterday it is on track to deliver a significant hike in profits after the UK’s buoyant property market helped the housebuilder to sell a record number of homes. The FTSE 250 company, which builds most of its homes in the south of England but outside London, completed 3,635 property sales in the [...]
Davey urges review of North Sea oil sector after BP cuts 300 jobs January 15, 2015 ENERGY secretary Ed Davey yesterday demanded an urgent review into the state of the North Sea oil industry, after a collapse in prices that has prompted BP and other companies to cut hundreds of jobs. Speaking after meeting oil company representatives in Aberdeen, Davey said he had asked Andy Samuel, the chief executive designate of [...]
German economy grows at quickest rate for three years January 15, 2015 GERMANY’S economy managed to grow 1.5 per cent in 2014, according to the country’s Federal Statistics Office (FSO). “Obviously, the German economy turned out to be strong in a difficult global economic environment, benefiting especially from a strong domestic demand”, said Roderich Egeler, president of the FSO. “Very low interest rates, a neutral fiscal stance, [...]
