Bottom Line: No change is no cause for concern – for now January 22, 2014 FOR ALMOST the entire decade that Kate Swann ran WH Smith, Christmas sales at the stationery retailer fell. Yet over the same period, its share price has tripled – climbing from 2004 levels of around £3.50 to a close of £10.43 yesterday. Its most recent update proved that investors – who’ve long cheered its ability [...]
Huge growth in new buyers leads Christie’s to record year January 22, 2014 HISTORIC auction house Christie’s sold more than £4.54bn worth of art and antiques during 2013 as booming numbers of first-time buyers led the firm to a record year of sales. Christie’s, founded in London in 1766, saw the number of new buyers increase 30 per cent last year. In total, these newcomers accounted for 22 [...]
Car and home insurance costs hit record low January 22, 2014 CAR AND home insurance premiums have fallen dramatically since 2012, a major survey has revealed. Research conducted by the AA shows record falls in the cost to consumers, including £100 sliced off motoring premiums in the last two years alone. But Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, warned that prices would not continue to fall in [...]
RBS accused of treating some of its small businesses roughly January 22, 2014 RBS TREATS some small business customers “roughly” and can worry others by passing them around from department to department, Sir Andrew Large said yesterday. The former deputy governor of the Bank of England told MPs the bank was poorly structured to encourage small business lending, and could give the perception that it cared only about making [...]
Hodge steps into CEO’s shoes at Pimco January 22, 2014 DOUGLAS Hodge, chief operating officer of bond fund manager, will step into the chief executive role when Mohamed El-Erian leaves the firm in mid-March. In a surprise announcement on Tuesday night, Pimco said El-Erian – heir apparent to Pimco co-founder Bill Gross – would step down as chief executive and co-chief investment officer. Hodge, a [...]
Debts across the Eurozone drop to €8.8 trillion in first fall since 2007 January 22, 2014 EUROZONE governments’ debt levels fell in the third quarter of 2013 according to figures from Brussels yesterday – the first time in nearly six years that debts have eased. State debts, which have prompted political and economic crises in recent years, climbed to the equivalent of more than 90 per cent of the euro area’s [...]
The Scottish Widow has returned January 22, 2014 THE WORLD’S most recognisable cape is back. No, not Batman, the Scottish Widow, obviously. Following a four-year hiatus, the insurance giant’s famous lady in black is back with a fresh new face and an ad campaign due to hit our small screens in February, as part of a drive by Lloyds to revamp the brand. [...]
JD Wetherspoon reveals rise in Christmas sales January 22, 2014 JD WETHERSPOON reported strong results over the Christmas and New Year period yesterday, the latest in a series of UK pubs to benefit from the holiday season. Like-for-like sales for the twelve weeks of the second quarter were up by 6.7 per cent and total sales by 10.6 per cent, while year to date like-for-like [...]
Eurotunnel posts record revenue thanks to rising passenger traffic January 22, 2014 EUROTUNNEL’S revenues topped €1bn (£890m) last year, the Channel Tunnel operator revealed yesterday. Overall turnover surged 12 per cent to a record €1.09bn, as passenger shuttles, the Eurostar high-speed trains and rail freight traffic all rose. The Eurostar carried 10m passengers in a year for the first time in its history in 2013. Almost 325m [...]
Capital Spreads owner upbeat as nears settlement on claims January 22, 2014 LONDON Capital Group, the owner of Capital Spreads, yesterday said long-running claims over fund rebate errors would be solved by the end of March, as it reported a return to profit last year. The junior stock market listed group said pre-tax profits for the year ending 2013 were expected to be £2.4m, reversing a £200,000 [...]
