Growth surges in manufacturing sector as export orders recover February 19, 2015 MANUFACTURERS are seeing business pick up this month, new survey data shows. They are also expecting to grow more quickly over the next three months, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Output volumes had increased for 40 per cent of firms in February compared with the 23 per cent who said they had [...]
Majestic Wine’s boss Steve Lewis resigns after 29 years with firm February 19, 2015 Steve Lewis, the chief executive of Majestic Wine, yesterday resigned from the company with immediate effect, after a difficult festive trading period for the company. Lewis had been with the UK’s largest wine retailer for 29 years, including 16 years on the board and six years as chief executive, having risen through the ranks from [...]
SABMiller’s CFO Wilson stands down for personal reasons February 19, 2015 JAMIE Wilson, the chief financial officer of SABMiller, has resigned from the South African beverage giant for personal reasons, the company said yesterday. Wilson steps down from the board with immediate effect and will leave the group officially at the end of the financial year on 31 March. “I am saddened by Jamie’s departure,” said [...]
Sports Direct on track for £360m profits despite winter slowdown February 19, 2015 SPORTS Direct said yesterday it remained “very” confident of achieving at least £360m of full-year underlying earnings after the poor skiing season at its Austrian business hit third quarter sales. The sportswear retailer, controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said sales for the 13 weeks to 25 January were up 2.6 per cent to [...]
Rexam and Ball to form drinks can monolith February 19, 2015 AMERICAN drinks can manufacturer Ball Corporation yesterday agreed a deal to buy UK rival Rexam in a £4.43bn deal that would create an industry giant. The deal would see Rexam shareholders get 407p in cash and 0.04568 new Ball shares for each Rexam share held, amounting to 628p per share. The UK firm has negotiated [...]
BAE Systems sees upturn in 2015 as hopes rise of defence spending increase February 19, 2015 British weapons-maker BAE Systems is gambling on securing the sale of more Typhoon fighters as well as naval orders this year amid belief that the worst was over for spending cuts in its key US market. Profits at the world’s third-largest defence contractor by revenue have been hit in recent years by government spending cuts, particularly [...]
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls survives confidence vote February 19, 2015 The French government last night survived a parliamentary vote of no confidence. It had been triggered by Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party after current prime minister Manuel Valls used an arcane and controversial rule in the country’s constitution to push through reforms intended to boost growth. France has been faced with a persistent low growth-low inflation scenario for [...]
Grocery price inflation hits four-year low February 19, 2015 PRICE inflation for everyday items across Europe has hit its lowest level since 2010 after falling for a fifth quarter in a row, according to figures released today. Sales of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), which includes everything from toiletries to fizzy drinks, rose 3.1 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2014. This [...]
Air France-KLM hit by euro as it speeds up cuts February 19, 2015 Air France-KLM yesterday announced it would embark on an accelerated cost-cutting exercise and defer its debt reduction goals as a weak euro has dampened the benefits of lower oil prices for airlines globally. Europe’s second largest traditional network carrier, which issued three profit warnings last year, also announced plans to cut investments and delay some [...]
New Social Impact Bond could save taxpayers up to £22bn February 19, 2015 Investment from big banks and other private firms in “Social Impact Bonds” could save taxpayers £22bn and revolutionise public services, a new report Capital Investment has said. These bonds encourage social enterprises to come up with ideas to address social problems. The government identifies the cost of the problems, and investors front the cash to [...]
