FTSE 100 CHAIRMEN BACK DRIVE FOR MORE WOMEN ON UK BOARDS July 13, 2011 THE DEBATE about how to get more businesswomen into the boardroom continued last night at the Lansdowne Club, as FTSE 100 chairmen came to hear BAE Systems’ chairman Dick Olver outline his plans for reform. “It is not a matter of quotas; it is a question of better decisions in the boardroom,” said Olver, who [...]
Cameron: Hacking scandal has sparked firestorm July 13, 2011 Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition leader David Miliband both attacked News International over phone hacking allegations and called for Rebekah Brooks to quit. At Prime Minister’s Questions Cameron said “a firestorm” was engulfing the media and police and called for those responsible should be prosecuted. News International chief executive Brooks denies any knowledge of [...]
Miners lead FTSE up as China injects confidence July 13, 2011 The FTSE 100 bounced back today despite the deepening Eurozone crisis which has seen Ireland’s credit rating downgraded to junk by ratings agency Moody’s. Miners led the fight back on the blue chip index while investors across Europe were given a boost by positive economic data from China. Its GDP rose 9.5 per cent in [...]
Unemployment falls to 2.45m July 13, 2011 Unemployment fell by 26,000 in the three months to May to 2.45m, official figures showed today. The unemployment rate was 7.7 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), down from 7.8% in the previous quarter. But the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance increased by 24,500 last month to 1.52m, the Office [...]
Wetherspoon sales edge up July 13, 2011 Pubs firm JD Wetherspoon reported higher fourth-quarter sales and said an encouraging performance from its recently opened pubs should help it achieve a reasonable full-year outcome, despite rising costs and weaker consumer confidence. Wetherspoon on Wednesday said its like-for-like sales for the 11 weeks to 10 July were 1.6 per cent up, with year to [...]
Burberry beats forecasts July 13, 2011 Burberry posted first-quarter sales slightly above forecasts as it raised expectations for its wholesale operations, bolstered by the Americas, emerging markets and travel retail. The British maker of raincoats and leather goods, identifiable by their camel, red and black check pattern, said Wednesday that revenue rose 34 per cent on a comparable basis to £367m, [...]
SuperGroup profit up 89pc July 13, 2011 Fast-growing fashion retailer SuperGroup posted an 89 percent rise in annual profits and saw room for further growth this year. SuperGroup, whose Superdry clothes are a favourite of celebrities such as David Beckham and Leonardo DiCaprio, said on Wednesday that it made an underlying pre-tax profit of £50.2m in the year to 1 May. The [...]
M&S sales rise bucks grim retail trend July 13, 2011 Retailer Marks & Spencer met forecasts with a seventh consecutive rise in underlying quarterly sales, as its older and more affluent customers cope better with a squeeze in disposable incomes. Britain’s biggest clothing retailer, which also sells homewares and upmarket foods, said Wednesday sales at UK stores open over a year, excluding VAT sales tax, [...]
Media is failing public in many ways July 13, 2011 WITH the phone hacking scandal continuing to grow, and the reputation of journalists at their lowest ebb since the death of Diana, now seems like a good time to add to the media’s woes. A poll out today reveals what can only be described as another mini-scandal, this time relating to the media’s ability to [...]
Europe fiddles as Rome burne July 12, 2011 AS MARKETS swung violently on the fear of an Italian debt crisis yesterday, Europe signed a treaty to establish a permanent €700bn (£615bn) bailout fund – but only from 2013 onwards. While Eurocrats and ministers have spent months tweaking the details of the treaty, markets are focused on the more immediate threat of sovereign default [...]
