Majestic toasts sparkling profits January 10, 2012 Majestic Wine raised its glass to a 20 per cent rise in half-year profits yesterday, helped by its shift to a six-bottle minimum in-store purchase and the return to fashion of sparkling wine. The company, which runs 160 UK stores, said it enjoyed a strong performance over the Christmas period, with like-for-like sales in the [...]
Dunelm predicts higher earnings January 10, 2012 Homewares retailer Dunelm said it was on track to post an increase in first-half pre-tax profit following a return to sales growth. The firm said sales at stores open over a year grew by 1.1 per cent compared with a fall of 1.2 per cent a year earlier.
Sports Direct hits out at Blacks January 10, 2012 Sports Direct has hit out at suppliers to Blacks Leisure for its failure to acquire the retailer, which was bought by its rival JD Sports this week. The firm said the deal was “disappointing” given its own bid for Blacks Leisure in 2010 being marked as “wholly inadequate”.
Topps Tiles sees takings decline January 10, 2012 Topps Tiles saw its sales continue to slide in the first 13 weeks of its financial year, as squeezed consumers continue to put off redecorating their homes. The firm said like-for-like sales had fallen by 4.2 per cent in the first quarter, but said this was an improvement from the 6.9 per cent fall in [...]
Past Times in rescue talks January 10, 2012 Past Times, on the brink of collapse, was in talks with a potential rescuer yesterday, a source close to the company said. The nostalgia-themed gift shop chain was due to appoint administrators today, after a 10-day gap required by the courts elapsed.
Urban Outfitters chief leaves January 10, 2012 US clothing retailer Urban Outfitters said last night that its chief executive Glen Senk had resigned. Shares of the company fell 12 per cent after-hours.
UK increases debt sale on high demand January 10, 2012 BRITAIN saw such strong demand for its index-linked debt yesterday that the government’s Debt Management Office decided to expand the amount available for sale to raise a total of £740m. An additional £40m was sold after the auction was covered 1.9 times despite the bonds delivering a marginally negative yield of minus 0.116 per cent. [...]
Italy faces credit rating cut as labour reform worries mount January 10, 2012 FITCH is likely to slash Italy’s credit rating at the end of January, the agency’s head of sovereign ratings warned yesterday, which could make it even harder for the country’s government to resolve its debt crisis. Several of the five other Eurozone countries currently being reviewed are “likely to come down one or two notches” [...]
REHN SAYS EUROZONE CRISIS FAR FROM OVER January 10, 2012 GREECE is nearing an agreement with private sector bond holders on a debt swap crucial to a second bailout package, EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn said yesterday. He also warned that the Eurozone’s crisis was not over, and urged markets to be patient to avoid pushing the bloc into a liquidity crisis. [...]
UniCredit stock in volatile bounce January 10, 2012 UniCredit shares and rights to buy into the Italian bank’s €7.5bn (£6.2bn) capital increase rallied after three days of falls yesterday, with traders saying volatility remains high. The bank’s rights issue, which runs to 27 January, is regarded as a litmus test of investor appetite for European banks, which must find €115bn by June to [...]
