Competition Commission called on bid for BSkyB January 13, 2011 MARKET regulator Ofcom has recommended a full Competition Commission enquiry into the approach for British Sky Broadcasting by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp should take place, according to reports. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport received the regulator’s report on the impact on media plurality the £7.5bn deal could have on the 31 December last [...]
Insurers agree to stop sharing prices January 13, 2011 SEVEN insurance groups including Aviva and Axa Insurance UK agreed to stop sharing motor policy pricing data using an Experian tool after the UK regulator said it could limit competition. The tool, Whatif? Private Motor, allowed insurers to access the pricing information supplied by competitors to brokers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said in [...]
Rio Tinto says Australian flood is force majeure January 13, 2011 RIO Tinto yesterday said Queensland’s flood crisis was preventing some deliveries of aluminium from its giant Boyne smelter. Boyne Smelters, 59.4 per cent owned by Rio Tinto Alcan, is Australia’s largest aluminium smelter, and is located near Gladstone in central Queensland. Rio issued a force majeure, a contractual clause that gives companies the ability to [...]
Tesco shares drop on poor Xmas figures January 13, 2011 TESCO shares took a hit yesterday as it announced disappointing Christmas sales figures. Like-for-like sales in the UK missed forecasts, rising just 0.6 per cent in the six weeks to 8 January. The company blamed the poor weather on the performance with its larger stores worst hit. Tesco shares were one of the poorest performers [...]
Halfords hit as bike sales fall January 13, 2011 HALFORDS issued a worse-than-expected profit forecast yesterday as poor sales of children’s bicycles over Christmas hit the retailer. Cycle sales fell 16 per cent on a like-for-like basis as parents bought gadgets and electronic games instead of bikes. The weakness in bicycles was in contrast to strong car maintenance sales which were up 12 per [...]
Booker lifted by surge in demand for fruit ‘n’ veg January 13, 2011 CASH and carry firm Booker saw sales rise in its third quarter. Like-for-like sales – excluding tobacco – grew by 5.5 per cent and fresh fruit and vegetable sales soared by 54 per cent. “It was a very unpredictable run up to the end of the year for most caterers, made even more so by [...]
Analyst views: Will Tesco bounce back from poor Christmas sales? January 13, 2011 PHILIP DORGAN | ALTIUM SECURITIES If we were to be critical, then we would say it has fallen short of how the market would have expected it to have performed from the time of its third-quarter announcement, whereas Sainsbury’s has actually done better. CLIVE BLACK | SHORE CAPITAL The good ship Tesco UK is certainly [...]
Home Retail not as bad as forecast January 13, 2011 SHARES in Home Retail Group jumped more than six per cent yesterday to hit their highest level since September, after the household goods retailer said sales had fallen less than analyst forecast. Analysts issued a slightly higher profit forecast for the full-year between £250m and £275m, following the more upbeat statement. Like-for-like sales at its [...]
Dixons sees trade dented as the dire weather claims another retail victim January 13, 2011 DIXONS Retail yesterday forecast full-year profit around the bottom end of market expectations after Christmas sales were hit by December’s adverse weather. The company, which runs the Currys and PC World chains in Britain, UniEuro in Italy, Elkjop in Nordic countries and Kotsovolos in Greece, said it expected underlying profit before tax in the range [...]
The pawn king sets his sights on the city January 13, 2011 WITH credit tight, the UK has witnessed a significant increase in pawnbroking in the past few years, with the number of outlets increasing to 1,300 in the UK compared to 2003 when there were just 800. But pawnbroking is no longer the preserve of the shabbier end of the High Street. One of the power [...]
