Electrical retailers face bleak future June 22, 2011 LOCATING the source of Kesa’s woes is fraught with difficulty, but its problems aren’t particularly new. Electrical retailers have been trading on wafer-thin margins for many years now, a fact that was disguised by the boom years when the property bubble meant TVs and white goods sold by the lorry load. When the crisis hit, [...]
Tesco lays out plans to revamp Europe business June 22, 2011 TESCO said yesterday it planned to double returns from its central and eastern European business by buying more goods regionally, opening a variety of stores and selling more services. At its annual results in April, the British supermarket group set a target to boost company-wide returns to 14.6 per cent by 2014-15 from 12.9 per [...]
H&M PROFIT HIT BY RISING COSTS June 22, 2011 Hennes & Mauritz, the world’s second-largest fashion retailer, posted an 18 per cent fall in second-quarter pre-tax profit yesterday, showing the impact of higher cotton prices, rising wages in Asia and a strong Swedish crown. Profit fell to 5.75bn crowns (£558m) from 7.04bn a year earlier. H&M said it had kept product prices down in [...]
Upbeat firms boost London jobs market June 22, 2011 JOB opportunities are opening up in London as the capital’s firms shrug off any effects from planned government spending cuts. Over half of London’s businesses (57 per cent) are now hiring as normal, according to a survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) – up sharply from a 45 per cent six months ago. [...]
G20 hits deadlock over financial regulation during food price talks June 22, 2011 THE G20 economic powers agreed on proposals to address volatility in food commodities last night, with the exception of financial regulation issues, a source close to the negotiations revealed. While the subject of financial regulation remains a sticking point, negotiators approved other measures such as the creation of a global data-sharing scheme, the source said. [...]
Eurozone’s industrial orders disappoint for April June 22, 2011 New industrial orders in the Eurozone rose by 0.7 per cent in April, official data showed yesterday – lower than many economists expected, after a 1.5 per cent drop in March. Excluding volatile items, orders were down 0.6 per cent in both the euro area and across the wider European Union block.
High street morale holds up across the Euro area June 22, 2011 Consumer confidence in the Eurozone has held up better than expected this month, according to an initial “flash” estimate released by the European Commission yesterday. The index recorded -10 after its six month high of -9.9 in May. “The index is appreciably above its long-term average of -12.5,” noted Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight.
Surprise upward spike in American house prices June 22, 2011 US analysts were shocked yesterday as the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index showed a 0.8 per cent monthly rise in April, defying expectations of another drop. On the year, house prices were down 5.7 per cent.
Another sign that Europe’s star is waning June 22, 2011 FOR the first time ever there are now more millionaires in Asia Pacific than Europe, as the fortunes held by the world’s richest people surpass pre-crisis levels to reach $42.7 trillion (£26.5 trillion). Asia’s ranks of high net worth individuals – those with investable assets of $1m or more – grew by 9.7 per cent [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHY IS ASIA PACIFIC OVERTAKING EUROPE AS A WEALTH HUB? June 22, 2011 CHRIS PEACOCK | LLOYD’S “There is higher demand in Asia because the economy is growing, but there is still also far more poverty. As the population is so large there is a standard of life in certain areas in Asia which would not be acceptable here.” WILLIAM LOW | WINDSOR INSURANCE “Because there is a [...]
