West End sees robust October high street sales November 14, 2010 SALES at London’s West End shops remained robust during October despite the details of the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review acting to unnerve consumers. According to lobby group the New West End Company, which is backed by major retailers and property owners in Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street, West End sales rose 7.7 per [...]
EasyJet poised to pay first dividend November 14, 2010 BUDGET airline easyJet is set to announce its first dividend payment alongside its results tomorrow, according to reports. The carrier has not paid a dividend since it listed ten years ago, but new chief executive Carolyn McCall has come under pressure from founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou to appease shareholders. Stelios, who quit the board in May [...]
Easyjet November 14, 2010 WHEN Carolyn McCall, easyJet’s new chief executive, delivers her first strategy update tomorrow, she will do so in fortunately auspicious circumstances. Annual profits are expected to be almost three times higher than last year at £154.5m. But McCall, a newcomer to the airline industry, won’t have long to bask in the glory: there is a [...]
Asking prices cut in bid to draw buyers November 14, 2010 SELLERS slashed their asking prices in November by 3.2 per cent, the biggest monthly fall since December 2007, as they try to attract bargain-hunting buyers. This is the fourth monthly fall in the past five months and takes the annual change to just 1.3 per cent, down from 2.9 per cent in October. Greater London [...]
Economic sentiment improves November 14, 2010 THE first quarters of next year will bring no relief from the UK’s economic slowdown, according to a business trends report released today by accountancy firm BDO. But the report’s optimism index suggests that sentiment is in slightly better shape than it was during the summer – although it still forecasts a contraction in the [...]
SAIC is poised to take stake in GM if China approves November 14, 2010 CHINA’S SAIC Motor Corp has reached a deal in principle to take a stake in General Motors if Chinese regulators approve the deal that would deepen an existing alliance between the two automakers, a person familiar with the matter said. China’s government would have to approve the investment before Wednesday for it to go forward [...]
Greenspan warns on bond crisis November 14, 2010 THE United States must move to rein in its massive budget deficits or it faces the risk of a bond market crisis, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday. “We’ve got to resolve this issue,” Greenspan said of the ballooning US debt levels. He spoke about the issue as a panel, chaired by former [...]
China considering policy to fend off ‘hot money’ November 14, 2010 CHINA may deploy a mixture of policies to fend off hot money, an official paper cited a central bank executive as saying at the weekend, amid worries US policies could create unwelcome flows of capital towards China. Ma Delun, a deputy governor of central bank the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said such a policy [...]
Sarkozy keeps key figures November 14, 2010 French President Nicolas Sarkozy reappointed a trusted ally as prime minister and named new defense and foreign ministers in a Sunday night reshuffle aimed at shoring up his position 18 months before a presidential poll. Economy minister Christine Lagarde, budget minister Francois Baroin and interior minister Brice Hortefeux were among proven heavyweights who kept their [...]
Warner in $750m bid for EMI division November 14, 2010 WARNER Brothers could be about to make a $750m (£465m) bid for troubled record label EMI’s recorded music division with the formal bid potentially being lodged with the record label’s owner, private equity group Terra Firma, within weeks, according to a report in a Sunday newspaper. While Terra Firma boss Guy Hands has said he [...]
