BURBERRY SEES PROFIT FUELLED BY ASIA November 16, 2010 PROFITS have soared at fashion company Burberry after strong sales in Asia. The luxury goods group beat forecasts with a 49 per cent rise in first half pre-tax profits to £129m China has become one of the fastest growing markets for the company’s red and black checked patterned goods. Meanwhile luxury brand Barbour, famous for [...]
Murray and Federer to collide at O2 November 16, 2010 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray will resume his long-standing rivalry with Roger Federer next week in London after the pair were drawn in the same group for the ATP World Tour Finals. Murray, one of a select few in the world to enjoy a favourable head—to-head record against Federer, will be looking to add to his eight [...]
Enterprise puts dividend on ice amid tough trading November 16, 2010 ENTERPRISE Inns said yesterday it would not pay a dividend in the current year and expected trading conditions to remain challenging. Shares in Britain’s biggest pub group went down by more than ten per cent at one stage. The company stopped paying dividends in May 2009 to help reduce crippling debt of nearly £4bn. It [...]
Amazon tops customer poll November 16, 2010 Amazon has been voted the UK’s most customer friendly company in a poll. The online retailer beat 17O other national and international brands, with banking firm First Direct taking second spot and supermarket chain Waitrose third. The survey of 5,500 shoppers, carried out by research company Nunwood, showed that Nando’s was the most popular restaurant [...]
England 2018 bid gets Fifa boost November 16, 2010 FOOTBALL: England’s hopes of hosting the 2018 World Cup will be boosted by the publication of Fifa’s technical reports, which will categorise the bid as a low legal risk with a high potential financial return. Karren Brady, the West Ham United vice-chair who is also head of the 2018 advisory board, said yesterday the publication of [...]
Punch finance chief leaves November 16, 2010 Ian Dyson’s shake-up of Punch Taverns continued yesterday when the company announced it was parting company with finance director Phil Dutton. Dutton will depart in March. Dyson, a former finance director of Marks&Spencer, is trying to turn around a business that has been fighting debts of about £4bn. The company said in a statement that [...]
Former Gunner Pires joins Villa November 16, 2010 FOOTBALL: Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of 37-year-old former Arsenal star Robert Pires on a free transfer. Pires had been released in the summer by Villarreal and was training with the Gunners earlier in the season in a bid to regain his fitness. Villa’s assistant manager Gary McAllister said: “It’s perfect. He’s a player everyone [...]
Gayle puts Windies in command November 16, 2010 CRICKET: West Indies batsman Chris Gayle entered the record books on day two of the first Test with Sri Lanka by hitting 333. Gayle became only the fourth player in history to register a second triple-hundred, matching the feat of Australian Don Bradman, fellow West Indian Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag, of India. The opener’s score [...]
easyJet pays first dividend as profits fly November 16, 2010 EASYJET said it will pay its first ever dividend in 2012 yesterday, as it posted a near three-fold rise in full-year profit thanks to rising passenger numbers and a lower fuel bill. The budget airline will also launch flexible fares this year in a bid to boost its share of business travellers, the company’s new [...]
Invoke spirit of Bodyline, says ex-skipper Greig November 16, 2010 ANDREW STRAUSS’S bowling attack should look no further than the infamous Bodyline series for a method of unsettling Australia’s batsmen, according to former captain Tony Greig. Greig, who led England in 58 Tests, believes Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting, in particular, is becoming increasingly vulnerable to the short ball. And Greig has urged England’s pacemen to recreate the [...]
