Cannon Place kicks off hunt for tenants September 26, 2011 CANNON Place is set to officially open today, marking an end to almost four years and £200m of construction work – though the building will be launched without a tenant. The 400,000 square foot, eight storey building above Cannon Street train station is one of the only large offices to complete in 2011, ahead of [...]
Buffett buys another 34m Tesco shares September 26, 2011 BILLIONAIRE US investor Warren Buffett has nudged up his stake in retailer Tesco in what is being seen as a vote of confidence in new chief executive Phil Clarke. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway last has bought around 34m Tesco shares for about £120m, lifting its stake in the British supermarket group to 3.64 per cent from [...]
Intertek names new chariman as David Reid September 26, 2011 BRITISH testing firm Intertek has announced that outgoing Tesco chairman David Reid will join the firm to fill the same role next January. Intertek, which tests products from toys and clothes to oil and renewable technology, said Reid, also a former chairman of Kwik-Fit Group, would replace Vanni Treves, who will retire on 1 January [...]
Flying Brands sells off property assets September 26, 2011 STRUGGLING home shopping retailer Flying Brands, in which entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter owns a stake, yesterday confirmed the disposal of a building on the island of Jersey, as it attempts to pay off its £1.7m banking loan. Jersey-based property developer JAJ Properties has agreed to pay £2.1m in cash and ten per cent in any [...]
Finsbury Foods earnings climb despite downturn September 26, 2011 FINSBURY Foods, the UK’s second largest supermarket cake supplier, said yesterday it saw an increase in profits despite the economic downturn. The group, which makes cakes for Weightwatchers, Thorntons and Disney, said its underlying profits rose by 8.3 per cent to £5m for the year to 2 July, after sales rose by 12.6 per cent [...]
German firms downbeat on next half year September 26, 2011 BUSINESS confidence in Germany for the coming six months has sunk to its lowest level since June 2009, a leading survey revealed yesterday. The Ifo business climate’s expectations sub-index fell for the seventh straight month, measuring 98 points for September — down from 100 last month. Yet the headline Ifo index — which also includes [...]
Broadbent hints at fresh QE September 26, 2011 THE PROSPECT of a second phase of quantitative easing was heightened yesterday by a dovish speech by senior Bank of England official Ben Broadbent (pictured right). The pound edged lower after Broadbent provided a downbeat outlook for the economy, stating: “Most importantly for policy today, the international environment is clearly disinflationary.” But sterling later recovered [...]
US home sales fall to a six month low as activity dips September 26, 2011 NEW HOME sales fell to a six-month low in the US last month, according to figures released yesterday by the Commerce Department. The number of sales fell 2.3 per cent, from a seasonally adjusted 302,000 in July to 295,000 in August. That is the fourth consecutive monthly drop, leaving sales 6.6 per cent below April’s [...]
Cut red tape says business body September 26, 2011 UK firms are constrained by red tape and held back from investing, which has a damaging effect on the economy, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) announced yesterday. The business lobbying group said the government should take five steps immediately to boost the economy. Current regulations should be slashed and no new restrictions introduced, the [...]
Italian confidence hits new lows September 26, 2011 Consumer confidence slid in September on the back of widespread pessimism focused on the economic situation, Italy’s official statistics agency Istat revealed yesterday. The indicator fell to 98.5, compared with 100.3 in August and 106.4 back in May. Sentiment with regard to the future declined from 87.5 to 87.2, whilst the “economic climate” measure fell [...]
