UK infrastructure bottleneck stifles investment and jobs September 8, 2011 TACKLING Britain’s crumbling infrastructure would create jobs and boost competitiveness at a critical moment, businesses said in a survey out today. But 98 per cent of 447 companies surveyed see the complexities of the current planning system as a barrier to infrastructure investment. Fifty-eight per cent of businesses think the UK’s infrastructure compares unfavourably against [...]
New American jobless claims rise but overall figures decline September 8, 2011 US INITIAL jobless claims came in higher than expected yesterday. A fall to 405,000 had been forecast. However, the number rose by 2,000 to 414,000 last week, stirring fears of labour market stagnation. The figures from the Labor Department said the number of new benefit claimants had suffered no discernible impact from the severe storms [...]
Demand falls for EU output September 8, 2011 EXPORTS and imports declined in July in Germany, according to figures released yesterday by the Federal Statistical Office (FSC). German exports fell by 1.5 per cent, following June’s 1.3 per cent decline. Imports fell by 0.3 per cent, reducing the country’s trade surplus to €10.1bn (£8.8bn), its lowest since January 2010. Analysts point to sluggish [...]
Sales surge at Morrisons September 8, 2011 MORRISONS marked its forecast-beating first half results with a renewed effort to finally enter the online delivery market – more than a decade after its rivals launched their services. The supermarket saw an 8.9 per cent rise in first-half profits to £449m, as a focus on fresh foods, low prices and promotions helped it chip [...]
Apple man to freshen up supermarket September 8, 2011 A quick glance at his CV shows that Morrisons’ appointment of Simon Thompson to managing director of its website is something of a coup. He left Apple in May after rising to become one of the most senior marketing-men in its European office. While working under Steve Jobs headed up the team responsible for its [...]
Carpetright reckons it will remain strong despite challenging market September 8, 2011 CARPETRIGHT said yesterday that it remained a profitable business despite a “substantial” reduction in profits over the past year. The carpet and flooring company last month reported a 5.8 per cent decrease in trade for the year ending 30 April and, in spite of improvement, sales fell at a rate of 1.5 per cent for [...]
Home Retail boss expects sales to drop September 8, 2011 THE chief executive of Home Retail Group warned that hopes of an “Olympics bounce” on the high street next year could prove misguided. Terry Duddy told City A.M. that consumer confidence was as low as in early 2009. The Argos and Homebase owner reported a second quarter slump which stopped short of analysts’ worst fears. [...]
Profits climb at Laura Ashley despite consumer slowdown September 8, 2011 LAURA Ashley said it was on track to meet its expectations for the year after doubling the interim dividend and reporting a 28 per cent rise in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit. The furniture and clothing company said yesterday that all its product categories except home accessories showed positive like-for-like sales growth in the period. “While [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: ARE THINGS LOOKING UP FOR HOME RETAIL GROUP? September 8, 2011 DAVID JEARY | INVESTEC Our initial estimates suggest that Argos is likely to make a small operating loss in the first-half. This is certainly not conducive to more positive sentiment and the debate on its weak performance… will not therefore abate. PHILIP DORGAN | PANMURE GORDON It looks likely that group profits will fall for [...]
SAB to launch a formal bid for Foster’s September 8, 2011 GLOBAL brewer SABMiller is set to launch its formal takeover for Foster’s Group this month after an Australian regulator rejected its claim that Foster’s had made misleading financial statements as part of a hostile A$9.5bn (£6.3bn) bid battle. SABMiller had hoped to rattle the Foster’s takeover defence by casting doubt on its financial statement. The [...]
