Carr apologises for ‘terrible error of judgement’ June 21, 2012 COMEDIAN Jimmy Carr said he made “a terrible error of judgement” in using a legal offshore tax scheme to reduce his payments to HMRC. “I appreciate as a comedian, people will expect me to ‘make light’ of this situation, but I’m not going to in this statement,” Carr said on Twitter. “Although I’ve been advised [...]
DO YOU THINK THE UK TAX SYSTEM IS TOO COMPLICATED? June 21, 2012 ANDREW SHEEHAN SMBC EUROPE I think the system is too complicated and a flat tax is worth looking at in light of Jimmy Carr. A flat tax could be worked out, we just need the political nerve to do it. This wouldn’t be unfair on lower earners. PHIL MORSE DT I think it’s actually quite [...]
Dixons plans to shut 40 shops as profits sink June 21, 2012 THE CHIEF executive of Dixons Retail said the group is planning to axe a further 40 stores on UK high streets as it reported a 17 per cent fall in pre-tax profits to £70.8m. Sebastian James, who replaced John Browett in February, said he intends to trim down its estate of 557 shops to about [...]
IS DIXONS RETAIL IN A GOOD POSITION FOR THE YEAR AHEAD? June 21, 2012 DAVID JEARY INVESTEC The continued strength of Nordics…and the improved performance from UK & Ireland clearly show the success of the renewal & transformation plan and the growing traction of the KNOWHOW service proposition…we continue to view Dixons as a long-term winner in electricals, hence our ‘buy’ stance. JOHN CUMMINS WH IRELAND Dixons’ results for [...]
Shop Direct picks banker as new chief June 21, 2012 HOME shopping retailer Shop Direct has hired Lombard banker Alex Baldock as its new chief executive. Shop Direct, which owns Littlewoods and the online guise of Woolworths, said Baldock will join in September when incumbent Mark Newton-Jones retires after nine years. Baldock, 41, has a financial rather than retail background, having worked for Barclays, Bain [...]
Tills ring again in May after discounting and summer sun June 21, 2012 RETAIL sales showed a sharp uptick in May compared to a year earlier, Office for National Statistics data released yesterday showed. The overall 3.3 per cent year on year rise was drive by increases in expenditure of 3.9 per cent on household goods, 0.7 per cent on textiles and most importantly 4.1 per cent on [...]
Silence isn’t necessarily golden, but the handcuffs are June 21, 2012 CAN Invensys blame the market for not entirely believing the engineer’s belated assurances yesterday that “there are no other discussions taking place in relation to an offer for the group”? On Wednesday, the British firm’s shares soared by more than a quarter, but the firm stubbornly refused to comment on this extreme price action. Its [...]
Invensys tanks after admitting end of bid talks June 21, 2012 INVENSYS shares plunged 14 per cent to 220p yesterday after the engineering technology company disclosed it had received a takeover approach from Emerson Electric but admitted that discussions are over. It is understood that tight-lipped Invensys, which had until yesterday refused to comment on takeover speculation despite ongoing fluctuation in its share price, issued the statement [...]
Universal and Warner go head to head before the US Senate June 21, 2012 UNIVERSAL Music Group yesterday pitched the case for its £1.2bn takeover of EMI’s record label to a US Senate judiciary committee just hours after New Zealand authorities approved the bid. Universal chairman and chief executive Lucian Grainge and EMI boss Roger Faxon led the charge, arguing that the deal would benefit the debt-ridden music firm. [...]
Everything Everywhere owners deny they are looking for a sale June 21, 2012 THE French and German owners of Britain’s largest mobile operator, Everything Everywhere, are not interested in selling and have enough cash to invest in the business, France Telecom’s chief executive said yesterday. Investment banking sources had told Reuters last week that former chief executive Tom Alexander approached private equity groups six months ago to gauge [...]
