US retail enjoys welcome shot in the arm from Christmas 2012 January 15, 2013 THE US enjoyed a healthy climb in retail sales during the all-important December period, official data revealed yesterday. Retail and food services sales in December were $415.7bn (£258.4bn), the Commerce Department said, up 4.7 per cent on the year, and up 0.5 per cent on the month – even correcting for seasonal variations. The entire Christmas lead-up [...]
City Moves for 16 January 2013 | Who’s switching jobs January 15, 2013 Amundi The asset management firm has appointed Christian Pellis as its global head of external distribution. He joins from LGT Capital Management, where he was head of distribution and a member of its executive board. Pellis has also held senior roles at Fleming Fund Management in Luxembourg, and at Threadneedle Investments. Pioneer Investments Jon Bailie [...]
Best of the Brokers January 15, 2013 ARM Holdings Investec has downgraded the FTSE 100 microchip designer from a “Buy” to a “Hold”, saying that the company’s “exceptional long term business outlook” is reflected in its share price, which has almost doubled since July last year. Analyst Julian Yates highlighted the potential risk of a move from US chipmaker Intel into ARM [...]
FTSE edges up despite fears over US debt ceiling and Europe’s GDP January 15, 2013 BRITISH blue-chip stocks edged up yesterday after a choppy day as the index managed to consolidate above 6,100 despite testing support with concerns weighing over the US debt ceiling and growth in Europe. The FTSE 100 twice dipped below the 6,100 level, but recovered on both occasions following weakness in early and midday trade. The [...]
Apple drags on market despite retail data hike January 15, 2013 The Dow and S&P 500 edged higher yesterday after stronger-than-expected retail data, though tech heavyweight Apple dragged on the market for a third straight day. Apple was the biggest weight on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 after reports on Monday of cuts to orders for iPhone parts. Shares declined 3.2 per cent to [...]
The rise and fall of HMV: Why great companies find it so hard to adapt January 15, 2013 I FIRST started work on the HMV advertising account in 1982, little knowing that I would handle the business for over 25 years, and that my path would cross HMV’s during a golden period for the record retailer. I say record retailer because that’s what it sold back then in 1982 – records made of [...]
Bad news for pension reform – we’ll live far longer than ministers expect January 15, 2013 IN A democracy, it is always a risky business for politicians to tell the electorate things they do not want to hear. So Steve Webb, the pensions minister, must be congratulated. He told the truth about the retirement age. In a speech last week, he said bluntly: “If someone tells a 30 year old what [...]
Online shopping is masking the birth of hybrid retailers January 15, 2013 THE fall of yet another iconic British retailer, HMV, does little to assuage fears that the high street in its current form is in terminal decline. The statistics are bleak. According to a survey by PwC and the Local Data Company, 32 stores closed each day in July and August 2012. Over one gloomy five [...]
Will the European ruling on wearing religious symbols at work cause trouble for employers? January 15, 2013 YES Chris Fisher In contrast with the UK courts – which didn’t see the cross as a “requirement” of the Christian faith – the European Court has said that the way a belief is manifested only needs to be “intimately linked” to the belief. Once that is established, the employer will need to justify any [...]
Letters to the Editor January 15, 2013 What killed HMV [Re: HMV’s demise shows why even giant firms have feet of clay, yesterday] The news about HMV was sad. I project-managed the development of its online presence in 2005, as part of its rebranding. The rebranding of HMV was undertaken by IBM, which managed the whole exercise, but one of the depressing points [...]
