Small businesses face an uphill struggle to recruit the right skilled workers – particularly in London January 8, 2017 MORE THAN half, or 55 per cent, of small business owners in London have experienced challenges in recruiting the right staff for their business, according to the latest Aldermore SME Future Attitudes report. The survey conducted amongst 1,000 SMEs across the UK found that this compared with an average of 43 per cent across the [...]
Online retailers including Asos and Boohoo set to be the winners of the festive season January 8, 2017 Retailers with a strong online offering are set to be some of the biggest winners of the festive season's trading, with analysts pencilling in sales jumps for Asos and Boohoo of 30 per cent and 46 per cent respectively. The City had been fearful that the festive period was a bloodbath for retailers after Next [...]
All eyes on M&S clothing – and its chief executive Steve Rowe – as the retailer unveils its latest results collection later this week January 8, 2017 Marks & Spencer's beleaguered clothing division could finally be on the up, with sales growth expected by some analysts when the high street behemoth reveals its third quarter results this week. On 12 January, M&S will reveal its third quarter to 31 December. Analysts are on average forecasting like-for-like sales growth in its clothing and home [...]
Solid fare expected from the UK’s listed supermarkets this week, including Tesco and Morrison’s, as a raft of retailers reveal their seasonal sales results January 8, 2017 The UK's three major listed supermarkets are expected to report solid Christmas trading this week, although investor focus will be on the outlook given this year's expected squeeze on consumer spending. On 10 January, Morrison's is expected to report underlying sales growth of 1.1 per cent for the nine weeks to 1 January according to [...]
Low sodium salt undergoes a taste revolution and heads for commercialisation by Aim-listed company January 4, 2017 SALT is heading for a new low sodium revolution: Aim-listed IP company Tekcapital will today announce successful test production and independent taste testing of its proprietary low-sodium salt product, µSalt. The taste test of traditional potato chips versus those salted with µSalt yielded no statistically significant difference in perceived salt flavour. However, µSalt has 40 [...]
13 events that will change the world in 2017: Article 50, Snapchat’s IPO, more Libor trials and a vote on Heathrow January 3, 2017 2017 looks like it's going to be a busy one: we're looking ahead to some of the key business and political events already pencilled in for this year's calendar. 1. Supreme court to rule on Article 50 The Supreme Court is due to deliver its ruling on Gina Miller's case this month (Source: Getty) The Supreme [...]
Retailers will need to brave fierce headwinds in 2017 January 2, 2017 The high street's cold snap over Christmas and the New Year is not just seasonal. Several chills running through the sector could finally be felt with their full force in 2017. Rising inflation, falling wage growth, escalating costs and sterling's depreciation are all expected to weigh on retailers in the coming months. If inflation takes [...]
A dealmaking BP is emerging from crisis but should not neglect shareholder concerns on pay December 20, 2016 BP has been mired in crisis since 2010's Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the turmoil has been of its own making, some has haunted the entire sector. After $75bn worth of disposals in the wake of the spill and its costly clean up, the company no longer resembles the oil [...]
Weary RBS investors demand £1bn in compensation for 2008 rights issue disaster December 20, 2016 More than 27,000 RBS shareholders nearly wiped out in the bank’s 2008 rights issue are due compensation of up to 94.5p in the pound, or more than £1bn, according to an independent report commissioned by the investors and seen by City A.M. The shareholders, part of the RBS Shareholder Action Group, are heading to court [...]
MPs demand Sir Philip Green ends BHS black hole December 16, 2016 A top group of MPs has made fresh demands that Sir Philip Green dig deep to plug the gap in BHS’ pension fund as new figures reveal the magnitude of the shortfall. City A.M. can reveal that Duff & Phelps, the administrators salvaging the wreckage of BHS, are set to contribute a maximum of £45.7m in [...]
