John Lewis sales hike fuelled by World Cup June 11, 2010 JOHN Lewis has posted a 20.6 per cent hike in sales in the week to 5 June compared with the same time last year. The chain saw sales of £54m, it said in a trading statement which attributed the rise to sales of sportswear stoked by the World Cup. The employee-owned firm, which is seen [...]
Hammerson buys Leadenhall Court for £65m June 11, 2010 PROPERTY company Hammerson has agreed a deal to buy London office building Leadenhall Court for £65m. The property, on the corner of Gracechurch Street and Leadenhall Street, is part of the portfolio securing the failed White Tower 2006-3 plc commercial mortgage backed security issue. The 109,000 sq feer building is one of nine put on [...]
Japan PM warns economy could “collapse” under debt pile June 11, 2010 NEW Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has warned that the country could “collapse” under its debt pile unless it reins in its massive public debt. Kan, who took over the nation’s top job after his predecessor quit, has made tackling a public debt that is already twice the size of Japan’s GDP a top priority [...]
StanChart eyeing Indonesian bank deal June 11, 2010 Standard Chartered and Spain’s BBVA are among the banks showing interest in the sale of the Gunawan family’s $1.4bn stake in Indonesia’s Panin Bank, Reuters sources have suggested. The 46 per cent stake is on the block with UBS running the auction. The auction for the Indonesian banking asset is set to heat up with [...]
Fuller’s hikes dividend after earnings rise June 11, 2010 PUB and beer group Fuller, Smith and Turner has reported a 17 per cent rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to £26.6m. The rise came as revenue increased by eight per cent to £227.7m. Fuller’s said its annual dividend had been lifted by 12 per cent to 11p. Chairman Michael Tunrner said: “We are pleased to [...]
BT strike talks collapse June 10, 2010 TALKS between the Communication Workers Union and British Telecoms group BT aimed at averting the company’s first strike for more than two decades have broken down. BT made a fresh two-year pay offer this week but the CWU, which represents more than 50,000 BT workers, said it failed to make any improvement on the existing [...]
Interest rates frozen at 0.5pc June 10, 2010 UK interest rates have been frozen at 0.5 per cent. The Bank of England is pursuing a “wait and see” strategy ahead of the budget. Its monetary policy committee (MPC) kept the rate at a record low for the fifteenth consecutive month. IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer said: “The government’s plans will become a [...]
Halfords eyes more acquisitions as profit surges June 10, 2010 HALFORDS is targeting more acquisitions with a hit list of up to a dozen targets. The company said it was hungry for expansion as it posted a 27 per cent jump in annual profit. Halfords, which in February bought British car servicing firm Nationwide Autocentres for £73m, made a pre-tax profit of £117m for the [...]
China exports up 48.5pc June 10, 2010 CHINESE exports jumped 48.5 per cent in May compared with the same month last year. The surge has raised concerns that the economy may be overheating and that the country should revalue its currency. Imports rose 48.3 per cent year-on-year, also stronger than expected. In April, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner postponed a report that [...]
Home Retail suffers as TV and video game sales slump June 10, 2010 HOME Retail Group posted a bigger-than-expected drop in first-quarter sales at its catalogue-based Argos stores, hit by a drop in demand for video games and televisions. The group, which also runs the Homebase, said economic conditions were challenging and uncertain but that it was still aiming to deliver flat profits over the full financial year [...]
