Eurostar boosted by business passengers January 14, 2011 Eurostar has said that a rise in business traveller numbers had helped to fuel a 12 per cent rise inn annual revenue in 2010. Ticket sales rose to £760m from £675.5m the previous year. Meanwhile passenger numbers also increased by three per cent to 9.5m, compared with 9.2m in 2009. The rail group said more [...]
John Lewis sales jump ahead of VAT hike January 14, 2011 Sales at department store chain John Lewis rocketed last week as shoppers rushed to buy furniture and electrical goods ahead of an increase in VAT sales tax. John Lewis, which also runs grocery chain Waitrose, said it also benefited from an extra day of holiday compared with the same week the year before, and from [...]
BAE Systems in £183m bid for Norkom January 14, 2011 Global defence and security company BAE Systems has made a €217m (£183m) swoop for Norkom, which comes up with systems to combat financial crime. The boards of the two companies have agreed the terms and the offer will now be considered by sharehoders. BAE chief executive Ian King said: “Countering financial crime is a priority [...]
Bank of England keeps interest rates on hold January 13, 2011 The Bank of England kept its key interest rate at a record low 0.5 per cent as expected on Thursday, judging that longer-term downward pressure on prices will quell an expected short-term spike in inflation. Consumer price inflation was 3.3 per cent in November and is forecast to rise to four per cent in the [...]
Ferrovial revives plan to sell off BAA stake January 13, 2011 Spanish group Ferrovial is pushing ahead with a plan to sell a ten per cent stake in British airport operator BAA, operator of London’s Heathrow, a move aimed at halving its 24.5bn euro (£20.46bn) debt. The company said it would seek offers for the stake, estimated last year to be worth about 200M euros, in [...]
Industrial output growth slows January 13, 2011 Industrial output grew at its slowest annual pace since July in November, dragged down by continued weakness in the oil and gas sector and despite ongoing strength in manufacturing, official data showed. Industrial output rose 0.4 per cent on the month after October’s 0.1 per cent decline. However, that was a smaller rebound than the [...]
Ashmore sees jump in assets January 13, 2011 Emerging markets fund manager Ashmore Group reported a 12 per cent rise in assets under management in its second quarter, beating expectations after strong demand for multi-strategy products. Net inflows hit $5.2bn (£3.3bn), offsetting adverse investment performance which caused a $0.1 billion drop in AUM to leave the total at $46.7bn, the group said. Analysts [...]
Dixons year profit to be at bottom end January 13, 2011 Dixons Retail, Europe’s No. 2 electricals retailer, forecast full-year profit around the bottom end of market expectations after Christmas sales in the UK were hit by December’s poor weather. The company, which runs the Currys and PC World chains in Britain, UniEuro in Italy, Elkjop in Nordic countries and Kotsovolos in Greece, said it expected [...]
Home Retail Group sales rally January 13, 2011 Home Retail said sales had fallen less than analysts expected at both its Argos and Homebase units in the run-up to Christmas, and forecast yearly profit in line with its own previous forecast. The company said it expected full-year pre-tax profit to be around the mid-point of its previously indicated range of £250m to £275m. [...]
Tesco sales hit by snow chaos January 13, 2011 Tesco posted a 6.2 per cent rise in Christmas sales as strong growth in its overseas markets helped offset a weaker than expected performance in its main British market. The supermarket group, which accounts for about one in every seven pounds spent at British retailers, said on sales at UK stores open over a year [...]
