Carriers still sore point for defence cuts October 6, 2010 LIAM Fox yesterday confirmed that the Trident nuclear deterrent would be replaced, earning him a huge round of applause at the Tory conference, but the future of two aircraft carriers remains unclear. “The first duty of the government is defence of the realm. That is why we will maintain Britain’s nuclear deterrent and will go [...]
Hague acts to assuage fears coalition is too pro-Europe October 6, 2010 WILLIAM Hague yesterday pledged to enshrine the sovereignty of the British Parliament over the European Union, in a bid to quell fears among Tory activists that the coalition government is too pro-Europe. Delegates at the Tory party conference gave the foreign secretary a standing ovation, after he said he would “reaffirm once and for all [...]
Pilot sports events established to boost participation among young October 6, 2010 SCHOOLS from nine areas in England will participate in a pilot sports event next year as part of efforts to ensure the 2012 Olympics gets more youngsters playing competitive games. Announcing the event at the Tory conference, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said only around one in five children regularly plays sport against other schools. “We [...]
Prada mulls a Hong Kong listing launch October 6, 2010 ITALIAN fashion house Prada is studying an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong for the first half of 2011. Prada, which has scrapped an IPO four times in the past ten years, may raise more money through a primary listing in Hong Kong than in Milan because individual investors are more active in Asia, [...]
Greggs in slim sales rise thanks to bacon rolls October 6, 2010 HIGH street bakery chain Greggs yesterday reported a narrow rise in third-quarter sales thanks to its breakfast range. The group, which has 1,451 stores and serves six million customers every week, said like-for-like sales increased 0.2 per cent for the 13 weeks to 2 October. Greggs said its bacon roll was the group’s best-selling sandwich [...]
Marston’s is boosted by pub grub October 6, 2010 PUBS and brewing group Marston’s said earnings for the year to 2 October were in line with its expectations, as increasing food sales boosted revenues at its managed pubs division. Like-for-like sales at the managed pubs unit were 1.7 per cent ahead of last year, as food sales, which account for about 40 per cent [...]
Non-food lifts J Sainsbury October 6, 2010 J SAINSBURY yesterday reported a sales rise in the second quarter as it pinned its hopes on catching Asda by rapidly expanding store space. The UK’s third largest chain behind Tesco and Asda, said non-food items were fuelling its performance. Sainsbury’s saw a 2.9 per cent like-for-like increase in sales in the period, which also [...]
Thorntons profit slumps with rising cocoa price taking its toll October 6, 2010 CHOCOLATE maker and seller Thorntons posted a 2.4 per cent fall in full-year profit as own store sales fell and said it expected market conditions to remain tough. The firm, which issued a profit warning in May, said yesterday it made a profit before tax of £6.1m in the year to 26 June. That compares [...]
Sainsbury’s October 6, 2010 SAINSBURY’S was a little more low key about its sales rise and consumer sentiment than Tesco which posted sales figures earlier in the week. With Sir Terry Leahy signing off with his last set of results it is hardly surprising that Tesco has stolen some of Sainsbury’s thunder. However, Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King echoed [...]
GE closes $4.6bn of deals to build up its business… October 6, 2010 General Electric (GE) yesterday made a pair of major acquisitions despite being spurned in a third attempt to buy a UK oil firm, as the largest US conglomerate builds up its energy and finance arms. GE reached a $3bn (£1.9bn) deal to buy Dresser, a maker of gas engines used by oil and gas production [...]
