Petrol prices hit new high April 8, 2010 THE price of petrol raced to an all-time high yesterday as the improving global economy, rising fuel duty and the weakening pound conspired to sting drivers. They hit an eye-watering 119.9p a litre – topping the previous record of 119.7 reached in July 2008 – in what has been called a “dark day for motorists”. [...]
Easter delivers record March sales boost for US retailers April 8, 2010 Top US retail chains yesterday posted record rises in monthly same-store sales in March, helped by an early Easter holiday and an improving job market, in the strongest sign yet of revived consumer demand. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 9.1 per cent in March, the largest monthly jump since Thomson Reuters [...]
Aviva re-enters Asian markets after five years in the wilderness April 8, 2010 AVIVA, Britain’s second largest insurer, will re-enter the Asian general insurance market five years after selling its non-life operations in the region. It is understood Aviva is preparing to announce its decision imminently, and could issue a statement today. The company said it would have made the move sooner but that a non-compete agreement, following [...]
Digital Bill attracts a wave of criticism April 8, 2010 LABOUR and the Tories were both on the back foot yesterday as a wave of criticism overshadowed the passing of the Digital Economy Bill. The controversial bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons, making it a formality that it will be passed into law. But businesses and the public slammed the decision, [...]
New piracy law is not a magic bullet April 8, 2010 THE thud of the Digital Britain bill hitting the statute books yesterday drowned out a collective sigh from the music industry. They shouldn’t be so relieved. Legislating to punish pirates will do nothing to address the massive challenges that record labels face in a digital age. Forcing internet service providers like TalkTalk to disconnect customers [...]
Brown and Clegg rubbish Tory plans to scrap tax on jobs April 8, 2010 GORDON Brown yesterday hit back in the “tax on jobs” row, accusing the Tories of working out their National Insurance plans on the “back of an envelope”. At his first press conference of the campaign, the Prime Minister released an 11-page dossier rubbishing Tory proposals to reverse next year’s one per cent hike in National [...]
ELECTION2010 April 8, 2010 More businesses back Osborne Another 13 businesses leaders backed Tory plans to curb Labour’s proposals to raise national Insurance contributions by one per cent. ITV chairman Archie Norman and Dairy Crest chief executive Mark Allen are among those who agree with George Osborne that the hike is “a tax” on job creation. Michael Caine ditches [...]
M&S sales up as staff given £80m bonus April 8, 2010 STAFF at Marks & Spencer will be handed an £80m bonus pot after the retailer ended the year with better-than-expected same store sales of 5.1 per cent in the UK. The figures were fuelled by the unseasonally cold weather which saw a massive jump in the sake of woollens. M&S said that total like-for-like sales [...]
Bank recruitment returning April 8, 2010 RECRUITMENT in the banking sector is starting to gather speed according to staffing giants Hays and Robert Walters, after each saw recruitment activity in the UK financial sector pick up during the first quarter. Robert Walters said the group had benefitted from increased hiring activity in the UK, particularly the banking sector, while Hays said [...]
Discount airlines see double-digit boost to March passenger traffic statistics April 8, 2010 DISCOUNT airline easyJet has seen the number of passengers travelling during March climb by 13.5 per cent. Last month easyJet flew 3.9m passengers across its 500 routes compared with the same period last year when it flew 3.5m passengers. EasyJet said the numbers were helped by the seven-day strike by British Airways (BA) cabin crew [...]
