FREE (DELIVERY) TO A GOOD HOME October 13, 2009 Amazon UK is offering free delivery on everything in the run up to Christmas, scrapping the previous £5 threshold to qualify for the service. Free delivery will apply for all items until January 1, but does not apply to goods from third party sellers trading on Amazon. Amazon UK, along with Argos and eBay, is [...]
J Sainsbury names Tyler September 13, 2009 SUPERMARKET chain J Sainsbury has appointed former GUS finance director David Tyler to become its next chairman. Tyler will be taking over the role of Sir Philip Hampton as head of Britain’s third largest supermarket group. Hampton earlier this year said he would relinquish the position to allow him to concentrate on his chairmanship of [...]
Energy and bank stocks push FTSE 100 back below 5,000 September 10, 2009 THE FTSE 100 drifted lower yesterday, unable to stay above the 5,000 level as energy and bank stocks weighed heavily. It closed down by 16.62 points, or 0.3 per cent to 4,987.68, having closed above 5,000 for the first time since late September 2008 on Wednesday. “We’re taking a bit of a pause from what [...]
Home Retail Group boosted by kitchens September 10, 2009 HOMEBASE and Argos owner Home Retail Group said yesterday it would match the previous year’s interim underlying profits, as sales of televisions and kitchens held up through the slump. Benchmark profit before tax will be “broadly in line” with last year’s £121m, it said. The group said customers were staying at home in the recession, [...]
Summer sales data to reveal retail outlook September 6, 2009 RETAILERS are set to provide fresh evidence of consumer confidence this week in a series of market updates. In a bid to revive the ailing retail sector the West End is launching High Street Fashion Week today in an effort to attract a predicted 2.4m shoppers to Oxford Street. ABF Foods, Primark’s owner, will today [...]
Market to eye consumer purse while MPC mulls rates September 6, 2009 THIS week will be all about consumers’ purse-strings and just how tightly they are pulled. Results from across the retail and leisure sectors will go some way to answering that question, while the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on interest rates and quantitative easing will tell us what the experts think about any [...]
Sainsbury’s chair faces two jobs row July 15, 2009 J SAINSBURY chairman Sir Philip Hampton yesterday faced questions over his £396,000 pay packet and whether he had enough time to be the chairman of both Sainsbury’s and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). One shareholder at the retail giant’s annual meeting called on Hampton to halve his pay as long as he did both jobs. [...]
StanChart plumps for John Peace July 2, 2009 EMERGING markets bank Standard Chartered, which has enjoyed healthy revenues and profits, confirmed yesterday it had appointed John Peace as the group’s new chairman with immediate effect. Peace, 60, is set to receive £650,000 a year and a further £500,000 in shares, which will vest over the next three years. He is also chairman of [...]
Home Retail Group fights off an investor rebellion over exec pay July 2, 2009 HOME Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Homebase, yesterday saw off an investor rebellion over proposed changes to pay plans at its annual shareholders meeting. A resolution to approve a new executive bonus scheme, which will see some managers paid up to 150 per cent of their salaries in cash, was passed. However, 35.7 [...]
Economy fears hit oil, miners and banks but defensives fly June 16, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 0.1 per cent higher yesterday, recovering only a small part of Monday’s sharp falls as strength in defensive stocks was countered by falls in oils, miners, and banks. At the close the FTSE 100 was up 2.56 points at 4,328.57, rallying slightly after hitting a six-week closing low on Monday when [...]