Home Retail Group October 20, 2010 Home Retail Group attempted to put a shine on some fairly grim – if expected – figures yesterday by claiming its Argos iPhone app had been a storming success. However, the truth is that sales at its cut price chain dropped by six per cent. This is made all the more worrying by the fact [...]
Pre-nups get legal status October 20, 2010 THE AGE of the pre-nup has finally arrived in the UK. The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a landmark ruling that gives credence to prenuptial agreements in England and Wales. The case examined whether the pre-marriage pact between German heiress Katrin Radmacher and Frenchman Nicolas Granatino should be considered as part of their divorce settlement. The [...]
JP MORGAN BOSS DIMON WARNS ON UK REGIME October 20, 2010 MUCH has been made of rumours that JP Morgan is to abandon plans to build itself an all-singing, all-dancing new HQ in Canary Wharf, with talk rife that the UK’s punishing tax regime and regulatory changes are behind the bank’s reluctance to commit. And in a little-noticed interview aside recently, JP Morgan’s chief executive Jamie [...]
Sarkozy calls in the cops October 20, 2010 FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday moved to wrest control back from strikers who have brought the country to its knees. He said yesterday he has ordered police to clear access to fuel depots after workers protesting about changes to the retirement age blocked access with human chains and piles of burning tyres. All 12 of [...]
Start-ups growing despite cuts October 20, 2010 THE PROSPECT of budget cuts have not deterred entrepreneurs this year with the number of start-ups in the UK growing at its fastest rate since 2007, according to the latest Simply Business start-up index released yesterday. London experienced the fastest growth at seven per cent, substantially faster than the rest of the UK. The upswing [...]
Stobart in shock profit warning October 20, 2010 FREIGHT company Stobart Group has cut its full-year profit forecast and warned that government spending cuts and tax rises could hit volumes in 2011. “We have slightly reduced our full-year profit expectations as a result of reduced spend by Network Rail and increased overall finance costs. We are also cautious that 2011 may see volumes [...]
CITY VIEWS: HAS THE CHANCELLOR GOT THE COMPREHENSIVE SPENDING REVIEW RIGHT? October 20, 2010 AARON CUTMORE | TQ SERVICES “I think people have got to learn they can’t have what they want when they want it. People got used to just getting things on credit. We had none of these problems in the past.” SEAN DOBBIE | HISCOX “We know work needs to be done to sort out the [...]
Sports Direct in good shape October 20, 2010 SPORTS Direct, Britain’s largest sport retailer, warned 2011 would be extremely challenging for all retailers as it delivered a trading update yesterday. The company, controlled by Newcastle United football club owner Mike Ashley, said group sales for the nine weeks ending 26 September were up 5.4 per cent to £295m compared with £218m a year [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW HAS SPORTS DIRECT PERFORMED October 20, 2010 DAVID BUIK | BGC PARTNERS Mike Ashley is incredibly market aware when it comes to capitalising on opportunities like the World Cup or other big sporting events, and when it comes to knowing what will fly off the shelves he has no peer in the realm. These solid results are just an endorsement of that [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 20, 2010 WHITBREAD Evolution Securities has upgraded Whitbread to “buy” from “hold” following the publication of its interim results on Tuesday. The broker said it had emerged from the recession in good condition with a strong platform for growth. It upgraded its EPS forecasts by 4.5 per cent and 5.1 per cent for FY11 and FY12 respectively [...]
