H&M continues with its expansion as profits fall January 26, 2012 HENNES & Mauritz has pledged to continue its aggressive expansion into new markets despite revealing a surprise fall in fourth quarter profits, as high cotton prices and a strong Swedish currency take their toll. The world’s second largest clothes retailer reported a five per cent drop in pre-tax profits to SEK6,802m (£640.8m), missing analyst expectations [...]
HUNGRY FOR STAFF | FAST FOOD CHAINS ARE HIRING January 26, 2012 Number of UK Stores: 490 Number of Staff: 20,000 Number of UK Stores: 830 Number of Staff: 23,000 Number of UK Stores: 1,423 Number of Staff: 15,000 By 2015: +6,000 Number of UK Stores: 720 Number of Staff: 20,000 Jobs in 2012: +1,800 Number of UK Stores 1800 Number of Staff 87,500 Jobs in 2012: [...]
Subway to create 6,000 new UK jobs January 26, 2012 SUBWAY, the sandwich franchise chain, has announced ambitious plans to open over 2,000 stores in the UK and Ireland over the next three year, creating more than 6,000 jobs. The company, which is famous for its US-style foot-long rolls, said its expansion plans were fuelled by a growing consumer demand for “convenient, affordable” food on [...]
Higher costs dent Furniture Village earnings January 26, 2012 FURNITURE Village has reported a 41 per cent slump in annual pre-tax profits, but said sales had remained solid despite a torrid UK retail environment. The retailer’s turnover rose 4.8 per cent to £180.7m in the year to 3 April 2011, according to its Companies House filings. The rise was partly down to three new [...]
Dimon backs Romney for primary wins January 26, 2012 JP MORGAN chief executive Jamie Dimon believes that Mitt Romney is on course for a victory in this year’s primaries, he said in Davos yesterday. He also appeared to come close to endorsing the Massachusetts governor, who has been mired in problems over his tax returns, which revealed that he pays an effective tax rate [...]
DIVERSITY MAKES GOOD SENSE FOR EVERY BUSINESS January 26, 2012 GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE, AVIVA IN DAVOS last year, the World Economic Forum stirred debate by insisting its strategic partners include at least one woman in their delegations. A month later, Lord Davies released his report Women on Boards, recommending targets for the number of women on company boards. At Aviva, we believe that a balanced [...]
FSB’s Carney sees lower risk of a European bank failure January 26, 2012 RECENT policy steps in Europe have “dramatically reduced” the risk of a Lehman-style banking failure there, Bank of Canada governor and Financial Stability Board head Mark Carney said yesterday, but he fell short of saying he was optimistic that a worst-case scenario had been averted. Decisive action by the European Central Bank to provide liquidity [...]
Bill Gates pledges $750m to AIDS fund and says philanthropy must continue January 26, 2012 MICROSOFT chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates pledged a further $750m (£478m) to the troubled global AIDS fund yesterday and urged governments to continue their support to save lives. “These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world’s poorest,” he said in Davos yesterday at the annual meeting of [...]
DAVOS TWEETS January 26, 2012 @Lagarde 3.35pm Good to be back in Davos. Record snowfall here- highest in January for 69 years. World Economic Forum @TonyFratto 5.22pm @MG_Miller Sure, billionaires may come for the parties, but they stay for the schweineschnitzel. #WEF #Davos @Number10press 11.24am PM: We’ll be hosting investment events so great excuse – come to London, come to [...]
UK wealth industry pays £7.6bn in tax and generates one per cent of GDP January 26, 2012 THE UK’s wealth management industry generates an estimated one per cent of the country’s GDP and pays £7.6bn in tax every year, according to new research. With more than £1.2 trillion in private client money under management, wealth management firms directly employ 124,000 people, research from the Scorpio Partnership showed yesterday – around 12.5 per [...]
