Black Friday sales top $1bn November 25, 2012 Black Friday retail sales online this year topped $1bn for the first time ever as more consumers used the internet for their early holiday shopping, comScore Inc said yesterday. Online sales jumped 26 per cent on Black Friday to $1.04bn from sales of $816m on the same day last year, according to comScore data.
Moonpig signs off year with jump in profits November 25, 2012 MOONPIG.COM, the online greetings card company, reported a 20 per cent rise in sales last year driven by growth at both its core and personalised card divisions. The internet retailer, founded 12 years ago by ex-commodities trader Nick Jenkins, said sales rose £7m to £45.8m in the year to 30 April. Profits jumped 10 per [...]
Smartphones take centre stage in the Christmas shopping rush November 25, 2012 CONSUMERS will not be far from their smartphones when stocking up on gifts this Christmas, with some £3.5bn sales expected to be purchased on or influenced by smartphones, according to business advisory firm Deloitte. The accountancy firm predicts 10 per cent of in-store Christmas sales (£3.2bn) will be influenced by smartphones, with another £330m of [...]
The Trainline rides to profit on strong sales November 25, 2012 Rail ticket website thetrainline.com boosted pre-tax profits by one third last year as an increasing number of train passengers shunned station ticket offices in favour of buying fares online, company accounts revealed yesterday. The business, which is owned by private equity group Exponent Private Equity, said bargain-savvy train travellers helped propel turnover to £106m from [...]
BP eyes a stake in new gas pipe link with Russia November 25, 2012 BP is in talks to invest in the key gas pipeline between Russia and Europe, sources said yesterday. The oil major is having preliminary discussions about taking a stake in a project to extend the Nord Stream pipeline into the UK. Nord Stream currently runs pipes from Vyborg in Russia to the German town of [...]
Gloating over broken windows forgets their real costs November 25, 2012 THE price of payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling continues to spiral upwards. Barclays put aside an extra £700m in October for PPI compensation, taking its expected payout to £2bn. RBS and HSBC have each set aside well over £1bn and Lloyds added another £1bn at the start of November, taking its PPI provision to an [...]
BAE is set to close one of its UK shipyards as work slows down November 25, 2012 DEFENCE contractor BAE Systems is looking to shut one of its major shipyards in Britain as it aims to balance capacity with future workloads, a top executive said yesterday. Nigel Whitehead, who is group managing director, programmes and support, told the Sunday Telegraph that BAE, which operates a shipyard in Portsmouth and two in Glasgow, [...]
WRG looks east to expand with Hong Kong deal November 25, 2012 THE COMPANY that staged the Olympic torch relay and the Pope’s visit to Britain has moved into China with the acquisition of Hong Kong-based Serious Events. WRG Creative Communications, which employs around 140 people, announced the deal yesterday. Serious Events, which was founded in 1996, has a number of high-profile clients, including the fashion designer [...]
New bidder circles Stansted Airport November 25, 2012 THE sale of Stansted Airport is believed to have attracted fresh attention from Malaysia. Stansted’s owner BAA, which recently renamed itself Heathrow, is being forced to sell the airport by competition authorities, after losing its final appeal in August. Suitors so far include Manchester Airports Group, New Zealand-based investment manager Morrison & Co, Australia’s Macquarie [...]
Plus turns into investing shell November 25, 2012 INVESTORS in Plus Markets have agreed to turn the firm into a cash shell to buy a natural resources firm, after its stock exchange assets were sold to Icap. Plus, which offloaded its junior stock market for £500,000 in June after struggling to deal with soaring costs, said shareholders have agreed to let the firm [...]
