Sainsbury’s boosted by online and convenience sales October 3, 2012 Sainsbury’s beat expectations to post a 4.3 per cent increase in total sales over the quarter this morning, thanks to strong growth in convenience stores and online. The food retailer opened 49 new convenience stores over the first half of the year, while the online business posted growth of over 20 per cent year on [...]
Pearson chief executive to step down October 3, 2012 Pearson chief executive Majorie Scardino is to step down at the end of the year. John Fallon, chief executive of Pearson’s International Education Division since 2008, will succeed her from 1 January 2013. Scardino joined Pearson as chief executive in 1997, and has seen sales triple to almost £6bn and profits increase three-fold during her [...]
Tesco posts 10.5 per cent profit drop October 3, 2012 Tesco posted a 10.5 per cent drop in first-half trading profit this morning. Over the six months to 25 August, profit came in at to £1.6bn. A £1bn capital investment programme, to stem a decline in market share to chains such as Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, was largely responsible for the firm’s first fall in [...]
Telecoms peace deal brings 4G to Britain October 2, 2012 BRITAIN’S four major mobile companies will all be able to offer high-speed mobile internet networks from as soon as next summer, after government-brokered talks between broadcasting regulator Ofcom and the operators last night moved forward the date that fourth-generation (4G) airwaves will be cleared for use. Culture secretary Maria Miller brought together the heads of [...]
Ed Miliband targets City during One Nation speech October 2, 2012 ED Miliband yesterday issued a direct challenge to the City, saying the first objective of a Labour government would be to “sort out our banks”. He also pledged to end quarterly results for listed companies, a move he said would end short-termism. The Labour leader used his speech at the party’s Manchester conference to call [...]
Rajoy denies that Spain’s bailout plea is imminent October 2, 2012 SPANISH Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy rebuffed suggestions that his government would imminently request a full bailout, during a press conference in Madrid yesterday. A European source had previously said that the Spanish were now “ready to request aid”, according to Reuters, yet Rajoy responded with a blunt “no” when asked if a call for aid [...]
Miliband’s speech: Powerful rhetoric but muddled thinking October 2, 2012 IF standing up and delivering a lengthy speech fluently and without notes were all that it took to become Prime Minister, Ed Miliband would be a shoo-in after yesterday’s performance. Modern Britain – and especially the politically engaged minority – has in common with ancient Greece an exaggerated respect for rhetoric, delivery and articulacy. On [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 2, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Blow for British nuclear revival A Franco-Chinese consortium has walked away from the race to build Britain’s new generation of reactors in a setback to the government’s hopes of ushering in a revival of nuclear power. The expected bid by French engineering company Areva and China’s Guangdong group for the Horizon nuclear joint [...]
Grey market values Direct Line at £2.76bn October 2, 2012 DIRECT Line Group was yesterday valued at £2.76bn after customers began betting on the shares using a grey market listing ahead of next week’s expected IPO. Spread betting firm ETX Capital set up the market yesterday morning and initially offered a range of 177-187p, implying this is the most likely IPO price. By the end [...]
JP Morgan fighting fraud claims October 2, 2012 JP Morgan will contest a civil fraud suit launched against it by the New York state attorney general, regarding securities sold by Bear Stearns, a firm it bought in 2008. Lawyers aware of similar cases told City A.M. that the bank will face billions of dollars in payouts if it loses the case. But it [...]
