Sainsbury’s loses clash of the titans as its challenge over Tesco’s Price Promise is thrown out November 10, 2014 Tesco can breathe a sigh of relief – Sainsbury's claim that its Price Promise campaign was unlawful and like comparing “apples with pears” has been thrown out by a High Court judge. Sainsbury's had complained that, when applied to Tesco's own label products and fresh food, the price comparisons were misleading, unfair and unlawful. [...]
Fuel group calls for full inquiry into secretive petrol pricing process as oil continues to decline November 10, 2014 CAMPAIGN group FairFuel UK warned yesterday that petrol prices were not guaranteed to fall in tandem with the decline in benchmark oil prices. Brent crude dropped to a four-year low of $82 last week, and Asda, Morrison’s and Tesco all responded with a similar downward adjustment. This follows a call from chief secretary to the [...]
Sainsbury’s eyes dividend cuts as profits set to fall November 10, 2014 Spending cuts, including a reduction in its dividend, are tipped to be on the agenda for Sainsbury’s on Wednesday as the supermarket prepares to rein in costs along with its first-half results. Analysts expect chief executive Mike Coupe will reveal a disappointing 12.5 per cent fall in profits to £350m for the period, as the [...]
New Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe is on the right road by clamping down on this spending – Bottom Line November 10, 2014 It takes one to know one – and thus I can confidently declare that ex-Sainsbury’s boss Justin King is a contrarian. As the kind of fool who has a tenner on Arsenal to win this season’s Champions League, I am instantly able to recognise the delight he must feel by saying things like “there’s nothing [...]
Banks argue over the future of free in credit current accounts November 9, 2014 Britain’s banks are split over the future of free bank accounts, with lenders arguing for and against the traditional accounts in submissions to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Barclays told the CMA, which last week launched a major probe into competition in the market, that free accounts impeded competition. “As standard current accounts in [...]
Bank competition is picking up speed – and this inquiry is a vital next step November 6, 2014 YESTERDAY, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it will be launching far-reaching investigations into the state of competition in the personal current account and smaller business banking markets. This is an extremely significant development, and one that the government welcomes. It is exactly why we created the CMA. A key part of our [...]
Exclusive: CMC Markets plans more growth before IPO November 6, 2014 Online trading firm CMC Markets could float this time next year if the group grows as planned, chief executive Peter Cruddas told City A.M. yesterday. “I expect we can triple in size in the next five to seven years. I would be disappointed if we didn’t,” he said. “We are looking at a flotation, but there [...]
Sports Direct owner Ashley puts money on Debenhams success November 6, 2014 THE FOUNDER of Sports Direct, Mike Ashley, has sold his 4.6 per cent stake in Debenhams and entered into a put option worth 6.1 per cent. The deal was conducted through Sports Direct, and required the business to dispose of the Debenhams stake that it built upon last month, adding a further £33m worth of [...]
FTSE edges higher despite declines in insurers’ shares – London Report November 6, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index ended slightly higher yesterday, with RSA leading insurers lower on weak premiums and drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline slipping after trading without the attraction of its latest dividend. The FTSE 100 ended 0.18 per cent higher at 6,551.15 points, after rising to as much as 6,580.21 earlier. RSA slipped five per cent to 460.10p, [...]