Jobs site sees vacancies shoot to highest level since financial crisis November 4, 2013 JOB NUMBERS in the UK have hit a five-year high this autumn, a top recruitment firm will say today. Reed’s website in October showed more than 165,000 live job opportunities, the highest figure since September 2008. And Reed’s monthly index of health in the jobs market, which began in December 2009, shows increased monthly and [...]
Visa records meagre rise in card spending over year to October November 4, 2013 BRITISH households spent 1.6 per cent less in October than they did in September, Visa Europe said today. Visa’s UK expenditure index, which uses data from its millions of credit and debit cards, found that year-on-year spending increased by a modest 0.3 per cent. Over the quarter to October, spending rose by 0.7 per cent. [...]
Bottom Line: Cuddly airline doing more to entice flyers November 4, 2013 MICHAEL O’Leary’s new, customer-friendly persona was out in force yesterday when he was asked about his response to his rivals’ ticket prices. “I don’t give a toss… in a warm and cuddly sort of way,” he told reporters. And when asked about whether Ryanair’s profit warning spelled the end of the no-frills experience, he pondered: [...]
Ryanair slumps as it warns of a fall in earnings November 4, 2013 SHARES in Ryanair took a 12.6 per cent dive yesterday after the low-cost airline cut its full-year profit forecast for the second time in as many months. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said its move to lower air fares across its routes had contributed to the gloomy profit outlook, but said he was unsure of the [...]
Punch Taverns sets the date for its third restructuring proposal November 4, 2013 PUNCH Taverns said yesterday that it will announce a fresh plan next month to restructure its £2.4bn debt pile after lenders rejected two earlier proposals put forward by the pub group’s board. Punch, which has over 4,000 pubs in the UK, has already warned that it could be unable to continue trading unless a deal [...]
Google delays building of new Kings Cross headquarters to review its plans November 4, 2013 GOOGLE is to delay work on its new £650m headquarters in King’s Cross after deciding to revisit plans for the site. Proposals for the 950,000 square feet development, which will house Google’s 5,000 staff, were given the go-ahead by Camden Council planners in September. However, the internet giant told staff working on the project yesterday [...]
Sky high costs expected as key football bid due November 4, 2013 EUROPEAN Champions League television rights could be a case of winner-takes-all between rival bidders BT, Sky and ITV, according to analysts. Bids for the prized football broadcast rights from 2015-18 are due to be filed today, and the bidding could be the most competitive, and expensive, ever. “We believe Sky could go for complete exclusivity, [...]
Lloyds spends £22m on minority stake in fashion retailer Joules November 4, 2013 THE TAXPAYER has become a top shareholder in the well-heeled welly and clothing maker Joules after Lloyds’ private equity arm snapped up a stake in the business. Lloyds Development Capital (LDC) said yesterday that it has paid £22m for a minority stake in the country clothing brand, a move that is likely to have triggered [...]
Coalition set to spare firms from quarterly results November 4, 2013 THE END of quarterly reporting is in sight, the government said yesterday in an update to its plan to encourage long-term investing. The Financial Conduct Authority is drafting a timetable for a move away from mandatory interim management statements and quarterly reports, which the Kay Review last year said could unfairly highlight short-term changes within [...]
Investigation into Zurich finance chief’s suicide clears Ackermann November 4, 2013 ZURICH Insurance finance chief Pierre Wauthier did not come under “undue pressure” before his suicide, the firm said yesterday, citing results of an investigation into his death that it hopes will wrap up the scandal before earnings next week. The findings of the investigation, initiated and overseen by Switzerland’s financial market watchdog, appear to lift [...]
