Hague reveals roadmap to get back EU powers October 23, 2012 FOREIGN secretary William Hague yesterday unveiled details of a government review that paves the way for European Union powers to be repatriated to the UK. Hague said the “Balance of Competences Review” will detail areas where the EU can exert power in the UK. It will consider 32 distinct issues – starting with taxation, health [...]
Obama has a wafer-thin lead on Romney after final debate October 23, 2012 AMERICAN voters think that Barack Obama won Monday’s debate with presidential challenger Mitt Romney, but the incumbent’s lead in the poll lingers around the statistically insignificant one per cent mark, according to a poll yesterday. Obama leads by 47 per cent to Romney’s 46 per cent in a survey of likely voters partially conducted after [...]
Will you be rushing out to buy an ipad mini? October 23, 2012 BRENT MARTIN | BULLIVANT LAW There’s probably a place for it in the market, but I won’t be buying it. I’ve already got an iPad and it’s great for everything I use it for, all my law textbooks, and my phone is fine for reading on the Tube. It’s probably more of a Kindle competitor. [...]
Starbucks suffers more than Nike after reputational hits October 23, 2012 WE have recently seen two of the world’s biggest brands hit by potential PR crises. First up was Nike, which first continued to support and then ended their sponsorship of cyclist Lance Armstrong in the wake of doping revelations, followed shortly afterwards by ubiquitous coffee chain Starbucks, which was hit by allegations of (legally) avoiding [...]
Finance crimes to be offered plea bargains October 23, 2012 CORPORATE criminals could soon be offered US-style plea bargains, under a new scheme by the Ministry of Justice to encourage companies to admit wrongdoing and avoid fraud charges. Instead of facing an automatic prosecution, firms will be given the opportunity to publically own up to economic crimes, and given a strict set of conditions with [...]
Labour promises to force down the cost of gas and electricity October 23, 2012 THE LABOUR party will today publish its new energy market policy, which promises to force energy companies to pass on price cuts when wholesale costs fall. The opposition party says it will abolish Ofgem, the existing regulator, and create a new watchdog that will take a more active role in forcing down consumer prices for [...]
Costa energises first-half profit for Whitbread October 23, 2012 WHITBREAD yesterday warned that growth in the second half of the year would be more subdued after the Olympics and a wet summer helped drive up first-half profits by 11 per cent. The owner of Premier Inn and the Costa coffee chain said a strong performance across both brands had helped push revenues up by [...]
Were Whitbread’s results in line with expectations ? October 23, 2012 SHERIDAN ADMANS | SHARE CENTRE Investors moved in [yesterday] to take profits as Whitbread delivered double digit growth…Despite being on target to meet its growth plan and the attractiveness of its business model, we continue to recommend “hold” in these challenging times as we believe the potential is reflected in the price. WYN ELLIS | [...]
Premier Foods sees sales rise after shake-up October 23, 2012 PREMIER Foods, Britain’s biggest food producer and the owner of brands such as Hovis bread and Mr Kipling cakes, yesterday posted rising quarterly sales and said its restructuring programme was on track to help it meet its full-year expectations. The group, which has been selling non-core businesses to bring down £1.3bn of debt built up [...]
Nokia seeks €750m from bond issue to fund turnaround plans October 23, 2012 FINNISH mobile phone manufacturer Nokia yesterday said it would issue €750m (£609m) of convertible bonds, with the proceeds used to fund an ambitious turnaround plan. Nokia’s cash reserves have tumbled this year as the company – which was once the world’s biggest mobile phone manufacturer – continues to struggle in the face of tough competition from [...]
