Shop Direct will slash 1,500 jobs amid fresh wave of cuts January 28, 2010 HOME shopping group Shop Direct is to cut 1,500 jobs, according to the GMB union. The group, which runs Littlewoods, Kays and Woolworths.co.uk, is to slash 900 positions in Sunderland. Other jobs will go in Burnley and Newtown, Wales, as the company seeks to cut costs. The union is now in a 90-day consultation with [...]
H&M sees profits leap as it hits the global expansion trail again January 28, 2010 SWEDISH retailer H&M yesterday said it would open 240 new stores this year in Europe, Asia and the US after net profits rose in 2009. Group profit after tax rose by seven per cent to 16.38bn kronor (£1.39bn) compared to 15.3bn kronor in 2008. H&M said most of the new stores will be in the [...]
Shareholding slumps among UK individuals January 28, 2010 SHARE ownership among British individuals has fallen to an all-time low while foreign investors’ stakes in the stockmarket have risen, official figures published yesterday show. At the end of 2008, individual investors owned just 10.2 per cent of the stockmarket, according to the Office for National Statistics. The number represents a decline from 12.8 per [...]
Business must get prepared for new bribery laws January 28, 2010 BRIBERY and corruption is big business. Just ask a lawyer. With anti-bribery legislation passing through Parliament, a raft of corporate investigations, litigation support and crisis management specialists are gearing up for a flood of new cases in the City. Among these, the most colourful must surely be Daniel Nardello, chief executive of Nardello & Co, [...]
Brewin Dolphin gets a boost as positive update cheers investors January 28, 2010 STOCKBROKER and wealth manager Brewin Dolphin announced an 11.5 per cent rise in first quarter income to £56.9m yesterday, slightly below market expectations. The Smithfield-based investment house saw a year-on-year rise of 5.9 per cent in funds under management for the three months to the end of December, however. The results pushed Brewin Dolphin shares [...]
US data boost recovery talk January 28, 2010 New orders for long-lasting US manufactured goods edged higher in December and the number of workers filing applications for jobless aid fell last week, indicating the economy remains on a recovery path. The US Commerce Department yesterday said durable goods orders rose 0.3 per cent last month, held back by a surprise drop in civilian [...]
the INSIDER January 28, 2010 Legs eleven, black eleven, left wing (eleven), one less than a dozen (eleven) has always been my number but I’m going to have to swap it for seven. SEVEN IS MY NUMBER might be an obvious choice seeing as he has won five out of his last six racecourse visits but looking at Oddschecker the [...]
UK consumers are at their most confident in two years January 28, 2010 CONSUMERS are at their most confident in almost two years despite Britain’s flagging growth prospects, according to a leading index published today. The GfK/NOP consumer confidence index rose two points to -17, which is 20 points higher than it was this time last year. Consumers are also feeling happier about the economic situation over the [...]
WHAT DOES THE FED’S RATES DECISION MEAN FOR THE US POLICY OUTLOOK? January 28, 2010 BRIAN FABBRI | BNP PARIBAS While the FOMC left the federal funds rate at 0–0.25 per cent, this was the first time since emergency conditions were set in place that a formal dissent has been made. Moreover, the text exposed important nods in the direction of a more confident view of the economic recovery than [...]
Jump in European sentiment builds January 28, 2010 ECONOMIC sentiment in the eurozone strengthened much more than expected in January and December while German unemployment rose less than forecast this month, data showed, pointing to continued economic recovery. A monthly survey by the European Commission (EC) showed the economic sentiment indicator for the 16-country area rose to 95.7 points — well above the [...]
