What the other papers say this morning – 05 June 2014 June 4, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Twitter weighs music acquisitions Twitter has considered buying online music services including Soundcloud and Spotify in recent months – a move that suggests it is willing to attempt its largest acquisition to secure new sources of growth. The online messaging platform has weighed up deals worth billions of dollars as it seeks to [...]
Tesco chief Philip Clarke says he has no plans to step down June 4, 2014 TESCO boss Philip Clarke yesterday reiterated that he had no plans to step down despite admitting that the supermarket chain had suffered its worst quarterly sales performance in his forty years at the company. Clarke said a dramatic slowdown in the grocery market and deliberate efforts to win back shoppers by slashing prices were partly [...]
Bottom Line: Chop harder or prepare to face a descending axe June 4, 2014 HOW quickly a giant can start to resemble a dinosaur. Tesco’s likefor-like sales in the first quarter fell by a shocking 4 per cent if you exclude VAT, petrol and vouchers, its worst drop in years. Embattled chief executive Philip Clarke says he’s determined to cling to his position, but it looks less and less [...]
Hiring at highest level since 1997 as services grow June 4, 2014 BRITISH services companies confirmed another buoyant month yesterday, with the most rapid staffing increases in 17 years reported this May, and no slowdown to the sector’s speedy recovery in sight. Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply’s latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 58.6, nearly unchanged from the previous month. The [...]
British incomes jumped in 2012 despite shadow of finance crisis June 4, 2014 BRITISH households’ incomes increased from 2011 to 2012, official figures showed yesterday, confounding the previous view that they became worse off as prices outstripped wages. After taxes, benefits and inflation the average individual had £16,791 to spend or save, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday. The figure was up 3.3 per cent on [...]
Boris Johnson praises finance hiring June 4, 2014 LONDON’S financial sector is ramping up its hiring of school leavers and recent graduates as part of Mayor Boris Johnson’s initiative to get an additional 2,020 trainees in investment management firms over the next six years. Aberdeen Asset Management, BlackRock and JP Morgan are among the 20 investment firms that have already hired 87 trainees [...]
Wolfson Economics prize: Shortlist for garden city design revealed June 4, 2014 LORD Simon Wolfson’s £250,000 prize for the best design of a garden city now has its five finalists, with a shortlist announced yesterday. In total, there were 279 entries to the competition, each providing a 10,000 word essay to support their case. The five now shortlisted as potential winners come from town planning, development, urban [...]
Dorset Cereals sold for £50m June 4, 2014 ASSOCIATED British Foods (ABF), owner of high street retailer Primark, has reportedly secured a £50m deal to take over Dorset Cereals. Dorset Cereals is currently owned by Wellness Foods, which also owns Rowse Honey, and according to Sky News the bidding attracted interest from Kellogg and Weetabix. ABF made the deal through its Jordans & [...]
Albania nearing EU membership June 4, 2014 ALBANIA yesterday edged closer to joining the European Union, 11 years after first being picked out as a possible member and two decades after the end of communist rule in the country. The European Commission voiced its approval for the Balkan state’s reform efforts, putting Albania on the path to a membership vote by the [...]
Euro area’s businesses point to best growth quarter since 2011 June 4, 2014 THE EUROZONE is set for the strongest quarter of economic growth in three years, according to figures published yesterday. Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for May, covering all sectors, came in at 53.5. The figure is down slightly from April’s three-year high, but any figure above 50 suggests that the economy is expanding. The services [...]
