Grocers set to unveil festive trading figures January 7, 2013 TESCO is expected to emerge as the winner of a tough Christmas trading period for Britain’s big four supermarkets as weak consumer confidence, falling real incomes and rising real prices put pressure on the sector. Analysts predict the grocer will on Thursday post a one per cent rise in UK like-for-like sales for the six [...]
High street and high-end shops to reveal holiday performances January 7, 2013 A HOST of retailers are due to give a glimpse of how they have performed over the key Christmas period this week. Marks & Spencer is expected to reveal a bruising set of numbers in its trading statement on Thursday. Nomura expects the high street giant to post UK like-for-like sales 1.4 per cent lower [...]
Mining heiress made to reveal secret accounts January 7, 2013 ONE of the world’s richest women, mining heiress Gina Rinehart, has caved in to regulatory pressure and finally revealed the full extent of her business empire. Rinehart, executive chairman at Australian mining company Hancock Prospecting, has published two years’ worth of business accounts after giving up the fight with Australian financial watchdog the Australian Securities [...]
Think tank slams plan to splash out on UK broadband arms race January 7, 2013 GOVERNMENT spending on broadband infrastructure has been criticised by an influential think tank, which claims ministers should instead focus on educating people about internet connections. In a report published today, the Policy Exchange is calling for culture secretary Maria Miller to “end the broadband arms race” and stop the “fixation with having the fastest broadband [...]
Shareholder Executive chief in line for Energy department job January 7, 2013 THE chief executive of Shareholder Executive, the organisation that oversees the government’s billons of pounds of shareholdings in companies including Royal Mail, is to quit after five years at the helm. Stephen Lovegrove, who has presided over key deals such as the government’s £4.4bn sale of British Energy to EDF, is to leave his role [...]
World’s electronics giants hit Las Vegas January 7, 2013 THE WORLD’S technology giants will convene in Las Vegas this week for the industry’s biggest trade event, featuring many of the gadgets that will shape the next 12 months. From tomorrow, the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will see announcements from global brands such as Samsung, Sony and Panasonic, as well as displays from emerging [...]
Tech giants conspicuous by their absences January 7, 2013 TAKE a look at the roster of companies vying for attention at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show – Samsung, Sony and Intel – and the names not on that list stand out as much as those on it. The most recognisable names in technology today – Apple, Google and Microsoft – will be nowhere to [...]
Bean counters swap the office for pantomime January 7, 2013 ONLY a couple of weeks to go now until PwC brushes away the post-festive cobwebs with the highlight of every drag-loving accountants calendar – the 27th annual Christmas cross-dressing pantomime. Over 200 staff and alumni are donning lycra and wigs for the production of Peter Pan, including a few cheeky cameos from board members Richard [...]
M&A lawyer bags holiday to Antigua in our reader survey January 7, 2013 A HUGE thank you to the record number of readers who filled in our survey, offering us lots of welcome feedback and suggestions for the paper. The close to 2,200 readers who participated were entered into a fantastic prize draw to win a holiday for two at Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa. The Capitalist [...]
Eurozone credit conditions will tighten in 2013 January 7, 2013 EUROZONE lending will be squeezed into a 2013 decline by bad loans and red tape, Ernst & Young forecast this morning. Non-performing loans will rise from 6.8 per cent of the total in 2012 to reach 7.6 per cent in 2013, the accounting firm’s financial services team predicts, the highest fraction since the formation of [...]
