Slow May sales hit US retail firms June 2, 2011 PICKY shoppers going to fewer stores have hurt big US retailers in May, patchy sales figures from Gap, Target and Costco showed yesterday. Gap, the high street clothing chain, reported a four per cent slip in comparable sales in May, down from a one per cent increase in the same month a year earlier. However, [...]
US probes Google hack June 2, 2011 GOOGLE’S claims that hackers, probably from China, sought to access the Gmail accounts of senior US officials are very serious and the American government is investigating them, secretary of state Hillary Clinton said yesterday evening. Clinton said the US government was “very concerned” about claims that Chinese hackers collected the passwords of Google users. She added: [...]
WPP grows sales as US revenue rises June 2, 2011 WPP, the world’s largest advertising group by revenue, said like-for-like sales grew more than six per cent in the four months to the end of April, buoyed by the United States and in line with its forecast for the year. The firm, led by Sir Martin Sorrell, said yesterday its US revenue was up almost [...]
Zuckerberg: Facebook claim forged June 2, 2011 AN ALLEGED contract and emails that a New York man says entitle him to a huge stake in Facebook are forgeries, the online social network’s founder Mark Zuckerberg said. In a filing in the US district court in Buffalo, New York, yesterday Zuckerberg said he has declared under oath that he neither signed the alleged [...]
Acer tanks on audit issue June 2, 2011 SHARES in the world’s second-biggest PC maker Acer have dropped after it said it would write off $150m (£91.7m) because an internal audit found “abnormalities” in its accounts. Acer’s shares fell by seven per cent in Taiwan, the maximum allowed by the stock exchange, in response to a statement that said it needed to set [...]
WHISKY AT MIDDAY FOR ABERDEEN’S POLAR FEAT June 2, 2011 THE WHISKY came out at noon at Aberdeen Asset Management yesterday to christen the boat the fund managers are sponsoring on its voyage into the Arctic unknown. The Old Pulteney has been designed to withstand some of the harshest conditions on earth, and her six-man crew – led by Scottish explorer Jock Wishart – will [...]
Aviva UK head in shock exit June 2, 2011 A SHOCK change of roles at major City insurers saw Aviva’s high-flying UK chief executive Mark Hodges leave to become head of insurance broker Towergate yesterday. Aviva has moved in highly regarded insurance veteran Trevor Matthews, formerly of Friends Provident and Standard Life, to replace Hodges. The move is Aviva’s second high-profile exit in five [...]
Asos sales in overseas rise June 2, 2011 ONLINE clothes retailer Asos yesterday announced plans to launch three new international websites as it reported a 41 per cent profit rise for the full year. The company said it had been boosted by international expansion and said it was on track to deliver on a plan for £1bn of sales by 2015. Chief executive [...]
Beware weight of expectation June 2, 2011 BEWARE the weight of great expectations. It is hard to quibble with the performance of Asos, which grew annual profits by 41 per cent in the year to 31 March; few other consumer-facing businesses can match that in these tough times. Strategically, the firm is making great strides. It has grown the number of its [...]
Kingfisher in BBQ lift but still cautious June 2, 2011 KINGFISHER, Europe’s biggest home improvements retailer, said yesterday a surge in sales of garden furniture and barbecues during warm spring weather had not changed its cautious outlook on consumer spending. The group, which runs market leader B&Q in Britain as well as Castorama and Brico Depot in France, said yesterday shoppers in Britain in particular [...]
