Factory gate prices surge April 9, 2010 FACTORY gate inflation jumped more than expected to a 16-month high in March, raising doubts that consumer price pressures will subside as fast as the Bank of England expects. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said producer output prices rose 0.9 per cent on the month, more than twice the jump analysts had forecast, for [...]
Commercial property hit by election uncertainty April 9, 2010 COMMERCIAL property could be slow to rebound unless the government tackles the budget deficit and tax fears, according to a London property consultancy. Cushman & Wakefield said in its latest business briefing note that deals had been slow in the last month amid uncertainty over the election. C&W’s head of research David Hutchings said: “The [...]
John Lewis easter sales jump 30pc April 9, 2010 JOHN Lewis has posted a 30 per cent jump in weekly sales after a bumper easter. The retailer said sales at its 28 department stores and one “at home” store were £59m in the week to 3 April, up from £45.4m in the same week last year. Merchandise director Jill Little said: “We now have [...]
Aviva heads back into Asian insurance market April 9, 2010 AVIVA said it would re-enter the Asian general insurance market five years after offloading its non-life operations in the region. Britain’s second largest insurer has made the move into Singapore after rival Prudential spent £24 billion on the Asian operations of bailed-out American insurer AIG. Asia has one of the world’s quickest expanding financial services [...]
Michael Page profits rise after UK jobs boost April 9, 2010 RECRUITMENT specialist Michael Page has seen profit rise by 2.9 per cent in the first quarter after a pick-up in the UK jobs market. The company – which places professionals such as accountants and lawyers – had said in January that Britain was lagging behind. The UK market makes up 30 per cent of its [...]
Bank of England freezes interest rates again April 8, 2010 THE Bank of England has kept the interest rate on hold at 0.5 per cent. No change of monetary policy – including an extension of quantitative easy – was announced in the bank’s monthly update. Interest rates have been frozen at 0.5 per cent since March 2009. The UK officially came out of recession in [...]
UK house prices bounce back April 8, 2010 HOUSE prices increased for the eighth time in nine months in March, but experts warns more property being put up for sale could dampen further inflation. The latest house price index shows prices rose by 1.1 per cent during March, partly offsetting February’s 1.6 per cent fall. The rise means prices during the first three [...]
M&S staff to get £80m bonus pot after sales rise April 8, 2010 MARKS & SPENCER sales rose by 5.1 percent in the 13 weeks to 27. The hike was driven by sales of formalwear and knitwear and the figures outstripped analysts’ forecasts of a 1.7 per cent rise M&S said full-year pre-tax profit would be around £630m, in its trading statement. The first day of the Christmas [...]
BA and Iberia agree merger April 8, 2010 BRITISH Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia have signed a deal to merge if shareholders and regulators give the green light. The merger, which was provisionally agreed in November last year, is expected to be completed by the end of the year. In a statement the two companies said the deal would be a boost for [...]
BA loses up to £45m in strike April 7, 2010 BRITISH Airways has said that last month’s cabin crew strike cost the company up to £45m. The company said in its traffic statement for March, it said that the action hit passenger numbers as scores of flights were grounded. However, BA said it managed to operate 79 per cent of long-haul flights and 58 per [...]
