Labour and SNP in battle of the bottoms as Michelle Thomson and Pete Wishart claim seats on House of Commons opposition bench May 19, 2015 The parliamentary turf war between Labour and the Scottish National Party (SNP) escalated yesterday, as MPs were sworn in. Not content with wiping out Labour from seats in their Scottish heartland, Nicola Sturgeon’s MPs are now trying to force them out of their preferred perch in the House of Commons chamber, too, The [...]
Icap profits fall in year of low trade volatility May 19, 2015 INTERDEALER broker Icap yesterday posted falls in profits and revenue, after a year of decreased volatility and stricter capital requirements. Icap, which matches buyers and sellers of bonds, swaps and currencies, said that full-year trading pre-tax profit fell 15.5 per cent, as it coped with a transformed market environment across many of its businesses, primarily its [...]
How can Yvette Cooper and the Labour party reset their relationship with business? May 19, 2015 Labour leadership candidate Yvette Cooper caught the attention of the City yesterday when she said that she wanted to consign the party’s anti-business image to the scrapheap. Distancing herself from Labour’s former leader Ed Miliband, who stepped down following the party’s severe defeat in the General Election, Cooper said Miliband had made a “mistake” by [...]
Topps Tiles says DIY is shrinking May 19, 2015 TOPPS TILES boss Matt Williams said consumers were shifting away from carrying out DIY projects themselves, as the growth of its trades business helped the retailer post better-than-expected first-half profits. Williams said trade sales increased to 48.3 per cent of the business from 44 per cent last year. “People are becoming more adventurous with their [...]
Sainsbury’s Bank to partner with Western Union on money transfer service May 19, 2015 Sainsbury’s Bank has joined forces with Western Union to offer money transfer services in 170 of the food retailer’s stores across the UK. The supermarket chain has been ramping up its presence in financial services since taking full control of its banking arm last year, in a bid to boost profits and expand its [...]
Contract wins help lift profits at Greencore May 19, 2015 FOOD supplier Greencore said that revenues rose 3.2 per cent to £639.8m, in the first six months to 27 March, despite a challenging UK market. The company, which makes own-label sandwiches and chilled convenience food for major supermarkets, said operating profit increased by almost eight per cent from £37.2m to £40.1m. The group has been [...]
Asda suffers its worst sales fall in half a decade May 19, 2015 ASDA reported its worst underlying sales decline in more than five years yesterday, blaming “unprecedented” change in the grocery sector, as supermarkets fight discounters on price. The Walmart-owned supermarket said like-for-like sales fell 3.9 per cent in the 15 weeks to 19 April, which is Asda’s third quarterly sales fall and an acceleration on the [...]
TK Maxx owner’s thrill at the tills as savvy shoppers seek bargains May 19, 2015 TJX Companies, the US-listed firm behind discount fashion retailer TK Maxx, said sales increased by six per cent to $6.9bn (£4.5bn) in the first quarter, as demand for its cut-price products continued to grow. TJX runs 3,441 discount fashion and homeware shops across the US, Canada and Europe, and trades under brands including TJ Maxx, [...]
Eurozone prices bounce back as deflation ends May 19, 2015 The Eurozone has escaped deflation, officials figures yesterday confirmed. Annual inflation in the Eurozone was zero per cent in April, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office. It means that prices of goods and services typically consumed by households were the same price in April as a year earlier. The data, which is in line with [...]
Euro tumbles as policy makers bring forward bond purchases May 19, 2015 The European Central Bank (ECB) will buy extra bonds during May and June to make up for the amount it believes it will be unable to purchase in July and August, an ECB official said yesterday. Analysts have noted that July and August can be quiet months for the bond market, and it may be difficult [...]
