Eurozone construction grows in August for fifth month in a row October 17, 2013 EUROZONE construction grew for a fifth consecutive month in August, fuelling hopes that the revival in the currency area’s economic fortunes was continuing. Production increased a seasonally adjusted 0.5 per cent month-on-month, following a 0.7 per cent gain in July and a 1.5 per cent increase in June. However, on an annual basis, production was [...]
Merkel to enter coalition talks with SPD October 17, 2013 LEADERS from German chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) agreed at a meeting yesterday to begin formal negotiations next week on forming a grand coalition government. Merkel’s conservatives emerged as the strongest force in last month’s election, but fell several seats shy of a majority.
Changing of the guard at Yellow Pages owner October 17, 2013 YELLOW Pages owner Hibu yesterday announced a purge of its top brass, after saying its chief executive, chairman and non-executive directors planned to step down after its current financial restructuring is resolved. Hibu said chairman Bob Wigley would be replaced by Alfred Mockett, but a new chief executive had not yet been appointed to take [...]
Price hikes offset sliding sales at cigarette maker Philip Morris October 17, 2013 CIGARETTE company Philip Morris International has lowered its profit guidance for the year, despite a five per cent rise in third quarter earnings. The firm said volumes had been falling across the world, with shipments in the three months to the end of September down 5.7 per cent to 223.1bn units. Shipments in the European [...]
Creator of EE brand Steven Day quits in hunt for new adventures October 17, 2013 THE MAN responsible for the creation of mobile phone firm EE’s brand is to step down after five years at the helm. Steven Day, EE’s chief of brand & communications and architect of the EE brand, will leave the firm at the end of the year, the company said yesterday in a statement. Day created [...]
Mothercare up despite growing pains in the UK October 17, 2013 SHARES in Mothercare rose more than five per cent yesterday after the mother and baby products retailer posted better-than-expected second quarter sales in the struggling UK market. Like-for-like sales were down 1.9 per cent in the 13 weeks to 12 October – better than the 2.8 per cent decline predicted by analysts, but a slowdown [...]
Interserve is signed up to do the BBC’s cleaning in £150m contract October 17, 2013 THE BBC has hired a new office manager, in the form of FTSE 250-listed outsourcing group Interserve. The firm has signed a five-year, £150m deal to run the broadcaster’s 150 facilities across the country, including Broadcasting House, MediaCityUK in Salford and Pacific Quay in Glasgow. Interserve will take in 1,100 staff from existing providers as [...]
Fruit Shoot bounce-back and hot summer sweetens Britvic’s sales October 17, 2013 BRITVIC shares fizzed yesterday after the soft-drinks maker posted strong sales thanks to the hot summer heatwave and a bounce back in Fruit Shoot’s market share. The children’s drink had to be taken off shelves last July because of faulty caps on the bottles. Britvic said its market share in Britain was now back at [...]
Benefits of Booker’s Makro deal start to show as profits rise 17pc October 17, 2013 Cash and carry group Booker reported higher first half sales and profits yesterday thanks to its recent acquisition of Makro, which the group said was helping to broaden the business. Sales in the 24 weeks to 13 September rose 16.5 per cent to £2.2bn on profits up 17 per cent to £58.1m. The food wholesaler [...]
Emerging markets help to drive growth at consumer giant Nestle October 17, 2013 NESTLE said yesterday that an improvement in emerging market demand helped to lift sales growth in the third quarter, reassuring investors worried by recent negative news from European peers Danone and Unilever. The world’s biggest food group and its rivals have been grappling with sluggish consumer demand in austerity-hit Europe, where prices for Nestle’s products [...]
