Labour demands infrastructure quango to determine spending September 4, 2013 LABOUR would set up a new quango tasked with ensuring Britain takes long term decision on infrastructure investment, the party has announced today. Sir John Armitt, the man tasked with delivering the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympics, was commissioned by the Labour leadership to review the UK’s investment plans. He has concluded [...]
Home Retail’s chief executive to step down September 4, 2013 HOME RETAIL Group’s chief executive Terry Duddy is to step down next year after more than 15 years with the household goods retailer. The Argos and Homebase owner said yesterday that Duddy, who has served seven years as chief executive, will leave by the next annual general meeting on 2 July next year. The 57 [...]
Bottom Line: A top-heavy group in need of a shakeup September 4, 2013 IF YOU’RE going to leave, it’s a shame to do it just when things seem to be improving. Sadly, that is Terry Duddy’s predicament as he announces his decision to move on from Home Retail Group. Duddy was there for the gruelling years when the twin pressures of recession and technological disruption threatened to bring [...]
Grimsey calls for more leisure space in bid to revive high street September 4, 2013 RETAILERS can no longer be relied on to be the anchor on Britain’s high streets, according to retail expert Bill Grimsey’s review out yesterday, which calls for more housing, education and leisure space to help “repopulate” town centres. The former Iceland chief executive yesterday published his self-funded “alternative review” of the high street to the [...]
Mobile devices and wearables take centre stage in Berlin show September 4, 2013 NEW MOBILE products from Sony and Samsung were the stars of the show yesterday at Berlin’s IFA, Europe’s biggest consumer electronics show, as the two technology giants unveiled their lineup of devices to compete with Apple’s offerings next week. Samsung showed off its entry into so-called wearables with the Galaxy Gear smartwatch. The smartwatch works [...]
Microsoft sinks as Nokia soars on tie-up news September 4, 2013 MICROSOFT suffered another disappointing day on the stock market yesterday as the company failed to persuade investors that its €5.44bn (£4.5bn) acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services division would improve the company’s fortunes. Since the deal Microsoft stock has plummeted six per cent, wiping more than $18bn from the group’s market value. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s [...]
Huge debt from Vodafone deal causes Verizon’s rating to fall September 4, 2013 SINCE Monday’s announcement of a groundbreaking $130bn (£84bn) sale between Verizon and Vodafone, Verizon has seen its debt rating downgraded and share price slump. Moody’s yesterday downgraded Verizon’s long term debt to Baa1 from A3 citing the additional $67bn of new debt that the telecoms firm added from the Vodafone deal, almost doubling the telecoms [...]
Regional gulf in jobless houses remains high September 4, 2013 THE PROPORTION of households in which no one works is back over 30 per cent in Glasgow, but the number in the south east of England is still dropping. According to new data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday, in 2012, 30.2 per cent of households in Glasgow with at least one [...]
Watchdog says Universal Credit introduction was too ambitious September 4, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT has not achieved good value for money in the implementation of its flagship Universal Credit welfare reform, according to a report released today by the spending watchdog. The National Audit Office said the programme – which will see many existing benefits combined into a single payment – has been over-ambitious and could not justify the [...]
Labour loses union money September 4, 2013 THE GMB union yesterday said it will slash its donations to Labour by £1m a year, in protest at Ed Miliband’s attempts to weaken the role of the trade unions in the party. Its existing £1.2m contribution to party coffers will be reduced to just £150,000 – and it will also curb spending on other party campaigns. [...]
