NEW FACTS RELEASED ON BRITONS’ HABITS January 27, 2011 SERIES OF STATS RELEASED BY ONS The government’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) yesterday published results of its general lifestyle survey, as well as a string of other data for 2009. The aggregated data was categorised by several demographics, revealing trends in our lifestyles — and deaths.
American home sales increase January 27, 2011 Pending home sales in the US increased by two per cent in December, as November’s increase was revised down to 3.1 per cent. The rise – reported by the National Association of Realtors – was double the rate forecast by economists. “It looks like an improving trend, but with the glut in existing homes, housing [...]
One in three graduates on dole January 27, 2011 Over a third of graduates has claimed job-seekers allowance since leaving university, employment website Total Jobs said today. Almost half – 44 per cent – of surveyed graduates did not feel their university education had equipped them for the workplace, they revealed. And a quarter of respondents said they would not recommend higher education to [...]
TUI suffers in winter chaos January 27, 2011 SNOW disruption in the UK and political upheaval in Tunisia hit bookings at tour operator TUI Travel, the company said in a trading update. The Thomson Holidays owner said booking volumes had dipped by one per cent in early December as the big chill took its toll. As well as the hit from the cold [...]
Cheshire joins Whitbread to replace Tesco bound Clarke January 27, 2011 WHITBREAD has appointed Ian Cheshire, pictured left, as a non-executive director to replace Philip Clarke. The pub group said yesterday Clarke, pictured right, will be stepping down from the board when he takes up the chief executive role at Tesco in March, replacing Sir Terry Leahy at the supermarket giant. Cheshire, who will start his [...]
H&M FOURTH QUARTER HIT BY RISING COSTS January 27, 2011 H&M yesterday reported a fall in profit for the final three months of the year due to the higher cost of raw materials, particularly cotton. Net profit was 5.5bn kronor (£534m), down 11 per cent on the 6.15bn kronor it made during the same period a year earlier and a bigger drop than analysts had [...]
Britvic says it’s on target for year January 27, 2011 Soft-drinks giant Britvic has been hit by a decline in pub sales but this was offset by a strong performance in other areas. The company saw a 20 per cent rise in first-quarter sales to £288m, with Mountain Dew Energy drinks proving popular. The group was helped by the acquisition of French business Fruite Enterprises, [...]
M&B sales rise fuelled by food January 27, 2011 Pubs and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers said it had seen strong trading over the Christmas period, boosted by food sales, but remained cautious on the outlook for consumer spending. The company, which has over 1,600 pubs and restaurants and whose chains include Harvester, All Bar One and Toby Carvery, said like-for-like sales in the [...]
Nintendo hit by poor sales of DS console January 27, 2011 NINTENDO reported a 46 per cent fall in quarterly profit, as sales of its ageing DS handheld device tumbled ahead of the launch of a new, 3D-capable model next month. The news came the same day Sony unveiled a rival portable gaming device set to hit the market around the end of the year. Both [...]
Third profit fall in a row for Nokia January 27, 2011 NOKIA, the world’s top cell phone maker by volume, reported its third profit fall in a row and warned of a weak start to 2011 as it lost yet more ground in the smartphone market. Nokia shares dropped 0.5 per cent yesterday to €7.75 after it said first quarter operating profit margin at its phone [...]
