Tesco chief Leahy to retire June 8, 2010 TESCO chief executive Sir Terry Leahy has announced that he will retire in March after 14 years leading the company. Unveiling its succession plan the retail giant said IT director Philip Clarke, 50, would take over. Leahy will be 55 when he gives over the reins of the company. Clarke is also currently responsible for [...]
Retail sales rebound after World Cup boost June 8, 2010 RETAIL sales bounced back in May – fuelled by warmer weather and TVs for the World Cup according to official figures. The British Retail Consortium said sales last month was 0.8 per cent higher than a year ago on a like-for-like basis, a big improvement on the 2.3 per cent decline recorded in April. Total [...]
BSkyB in £160m deal for Virgin Media channels June 4, 2010 BSkyB has agreed to buy Virgin Media’s basic channels as the two former fierce rivals develop strategies to compete with the soon-to-arrive free Internet-connected TV services. The satellite group BSkyB will pay up to £160m cash to expand its portfolio of basic pay TV channels, which will include Living, Bravo and Virgin1. It will also [...]
HSBC to offload private equity arms June 4, 2010 HSBC is in talks that could lead to five separate management buyouts of its private equity fund management businesses, as banks go back to focusing on core operations. Europe’s biggest bank said talks are underway over units in Hong Kong, Britain, the United States, Canada and the Middle East. HSBC’s regional private equity businesses focus [...]
UK car sales rise again June 4, 2010 NEW car registrations in Britain rose an annual 13.5 percent in May to 153,095 vehicles, according to official industry figures. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said it was the 11th straight monthly rise. However, it warned that there were still tough times ahead. “May was another good month for the UK new [...]
House prices fall in May June 4, 2010 HOUSE prices fell by 0.4 per cent in May following April’s 0.1 per cent, drop, according to mortgage lender Halifax The fall still left prices 6.9 per cent higher in the three months to May compared with a year ago and took the average price of a UK home to £167,570. Analysts had forecast a [...]
EasyJet to use hi-tech ash cloud radar June 4, 2010 EasyJet has unveiled a high-tech radar system to allow planes to fly around ash clouds after figures showing 215,000 of their passengers had been hit by the Icelandic volcano. In its data for last month the airline revealed that 1,600 flights were cancelled after the ash cloud billowed across Europe. The new technology it is [...]
Laura Ashley revenue boosted by online sales June 4, 2010 FASHION and homewares retailer Laura Ashley said total UK retail revenue for the first 17 weeks of the financial year rose 6.2 per cent – fuelled by a growth in online sales. The company, which has 229 stores in the UK and Ireland, said it remained confident of continued growth in 2010 and expected full-year [...]
BA passenger numbers plunge in strike chaos June 3, 2010 BRITISH Airways carried 11.5 per cent fewer passengers in May year-on-year, hit by disruption caused by seven days of strikes by cabin crew. BA, which earlier this year sealed its long-awaited merger with Spain’s Iberia, carried 2.36m passengers last month, down from the 2.76m it flew in May 2009, while its load factor – a [...]
FSA hits JPMorgan Securities with record fine June 3, 2010 THE Financial Services Authority has hit on JPMorgan Securities with a record £33.32m for mishandling client money. Under the FSA’s client money rules, firms are required to keep client funds separate from their own – in different accounts with trust status. The aim is to protect client money in the event of the firm’s insolvency. [...]
