A two-speed high street January 9, 2014 A CLEAR split between Britain’s winners and losers in the battle for consumers’ cash this Christmas emerged yesterday, as three of the biggest retail chains revealed worse-than-expected trading. Poor results from Tesco, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer added to dreary updates from Sainsbury’s and Mothercare, with heavy discounting, weak consumer spending and the rising discount [...]
Cinema chains to star in £1bn mega-merger January 9, 2014 CINEWORLD last night confirmed it is in talks to seal a £900m merger with Warsaw-listed Cinema City International (CCI), a deal that would create a cinema chain with nearly 2,000 screens spread across Europe and Israel. Cineworld, which is due to issue a trading update today, is the UK’s largest cinema operator by market share, [...]
Banker pay starts rising as recovery takes hold January 9, 2014 PAY IN finance and banking is bouncing back strongly this year, according to recruiter Robert Half’s annual salary guide. After several years of sacking staff and holding back pay to bring down costs and reform businesses, banks are increasingly prepared to pay more for the right talent in the right areas, the report has found. [...]
The dovish consensus is wrong: It is time for interest rate hikes January 9, 2014 ECONOMISTS seem to lurch from one dangerous fad to another. In the late 1980s, most supported the European exchange rate mechanism, which blew up spectacularly; in the 1990s, many supported UK membership of the euro, which would have been a disaster; during the 2000s, few saw the bubble coming and most missed the credit and [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 10 January 2014 January 9, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Taxman hardens stance on disputes The UK taxman has toughened its stance on disputes with big business in response to public pressure over alleged “sweetheart” deals, companies say. Three-quarters of such groups surveyed by Clifford Chance, a law firm, said HM Revenue & Customs had “generally become more aggressive in recent years”. Santander [...]
French official – Our debt puts us in danger zone January 9, 2014 THE FRENCH government’s huge debt pile has plunged the euro area’s second largest economy into a danger zone, the head of its public audit office said yesterday. France’s national debt has reached the equivalent of 93.4 per cent of the country’s GDP, it has estimated – up from 90.2 per cent at the end of 2012. By [...]
Non-financial UK firms jump in profitability January 9, 2014 NON-FINANCIAL sector British companies involved in manufacturing, services and oil exploration industries saw their profitability increase during the third quarter of 2013. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that non-financial corporations’ profitability, as measured by their net rate of return, was 11.3 per cent during the quarter, higher than the second quarter but lower [...]
Stocks tumble as Meddings quits StanChart January 9, 2014 SHOCKED investors fled Standard Chartered stocks yesterday on the surprise exit of finance director Richard Meddings, announced alongside a major shakeup of the bank’s structure. Its shares tumbled more than five per cent at the lowest point, before recoverying to close down 2.17 per cent. But big shareholders and analysts rallied round to express their faith [...]
Recruitment boom fuels hopes of a recovery in UK construction January 9, 2014 BRITISH builders have been on a hiring spree in recent months, with some construction firms struggling to find skilled workers and even facing shortages of materials as both housing and commercial developments spring up. Recruitment group Hays said net fees from private sector construction and property jobs rose 21 per cent in the last three [...]
Bank of England holds the line as employment tests guidance January 9, 2014 THE BANK of England made no changes to its forward guidance policy this month, holding UK interest rates at their current low for the opening month of 2014. The monetary policy committee (MPC) was widely expected to keep the Bank’s benchmark interest rate at 0.5 per cent, in line with their forward guidance policy, which aims [...]
