Starbuck admits McCafe impact November 12, 2009 Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz said yesterday that McDonald’s McCafe launch earlier this year made the cafe chain better. Starbucks executives have repeatedly said that the world’s largest hamburger chain’s entry into the market for espresso-based drinks had no impact on Starbucks.
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 12, 2009 Daiwa SecuritiesThe investment banking group has appointed Masami Tada as its new chairman and chief executive for Europe and the Middle East. Tada joined the group in 1978 and has held a number of prominent roles in both Japan and Europe, most recently at the financial consulting and investment advisory arm, Daiwa Fund Consulting. The [...]
Google is trying to make mobile phone ads pay November 12, 2009 COMPANIES have spent years trying to work out how to make advertising on the mobile phone work. In many ways, it should be a no-brainer: unlike the PC, we’ve always seen our phones as something to spend cash on – whether we’re buying calls, texts, ringtones or data services. They are an unashamedly commercial device [...]
Aegon slides as earnings miss forecast November 12, 2009 DISAPPOINTED market makers sold shares in Aegon yesterday after its third quarter pre-tax earnings missed consensus expectations. Despite bouncing back into the black with a net profit of €145m (£130.4m) compared to last year’s loss of €329m, the insurer saw its shares fall 6.4 per cent to close at €5.1. Pre-tax earnings fell year-on-year to [...]
IEA warns on rising oil prices November 12, 2009 OIL demand has started to grow after a year-and-a-half of decline, the International Energy Agency said yesterday, in the latest sign that the pick-up in Asia is boosting energy consumption. But the body warned that the recent rise in oil prices could derail recovery if it continues, and demand for the commodity itself will rebound [...]
AB InBev faces sobering sales November 12, 2009 THE world’s biggest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, faces a sobering mix of falling sales and a falling thirst for beer in its major world markets. In a third quarter update yesterday, the recently-merged AB InBev, brewer of Stella Artois and Budweiser, said total beer volumes slumped 5.1 per cent to 106.6m hectolitres due to weakness in [...]
WH Smith braced for a competitive Christmas November 12, 2009 RETAILER WH Smith yesterday said it remains cautious about trading in the run up to Christmas after reporting a decline in sales in the first 10 weeks of the financial year. Total group sales in the period to 7 November dipped one per cent compared to the same period last year, while like-for-like sales at [...]
Asda launches price cuts as discount war hots up November 12, 2009 ASDA has raised the stakes in the Christmas price war by slashing £150m from the price of products in a discount drive designed to put pressure on its rivals. Asda, which has based its marketing on being the cheapest of the big four supermarkets, said consumers were still unwilling to part with cash. A day [...]
Eurozone industrial output posts healthy gains in third quarter November 12, 2009 EUROZONE industrial production rose again in September by 0.3 per cent on the previous month, raising hopes that tomorrow’s third quarter GDP figures for the region will see strong gains. The rise meant output in the three months to September was 2.2 per cent higher on the previous quarter and that the sector contributed slightly [...]
Jump in US mortgages but demand for new loans falls November 12, 2009 THE NUMBER of US mortgage applications went up last week as lower fixed rates increased the call for refinancing, but demand for new home loans fell to a nine-year low. Average 30-year mortgage rates fell 0.07 percentage point to 4.9 per cent in the week ended November 6, making a new run toward the record [...]
